Into the Void
by Electra126
Summary: COMPLETE. (Fuffy) While in prison, Faith begins to experience problems of the mystical variety which indicate that her past choices may not have been her own. Can she be fixed? Does Buffy hold the key? Or will she slowly fall into the void? BF
1. Part of the System

**Summary:** While in prison, Faith begins to experience problems of the mystical variety that seem to indicate that her past choices may not have been her own. Can she be fixed? Does Buffy hold the key? Or will she slowly fall into the void? FUFFY  
  
**Rating:** R, for language, violence, and adult content. Please don't read if you are offended by bad language and sexual content.  
  
**Authors Note:** Events are basically the same up to the episode "Bad Girls," then it is basically AU. The body swap happened, but Buffy never followed Faith to LA afterwards, and hasn't seen her since (but she does know that Faith is in prison and that Angel keeps in touch with her). Some spoilers through Season 6 of Buffy and Season 5 of Angel. I'll fill you in on the happenings as we go.  
  
**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.  
  
**Feedback:** I'd appreciate it. Feel free to give me pointers or ideas. (  
  
**Chapter One** **-- Part of the System  
**  
Faith wasn't exactly sure how she was feeling when she first went to prison. A million thoughts were going through her mind all at once.  
  
Part of her was pissed off. She went to LA to escape the trouble she had in Sunnydale. Sure, she wreaked a little havoc once she had got there, but then Angel had gotten through to her. He offered his help and said that he would see her through to the end, knowing from his own personal experience that the road to redemption is a rocky (and lonely) path. With the arrival of the Watcher's Council goons and the ever-growing police threat, she knew that her days were numbered. After an evening of heightened emotions and close calls, she turned herself into the police and was sent to prison, 25 years to life._ 'Hey Angel, thanks for your help, you punk.'_ No, that's not exactly fair. After all, Angel had tried to help her, like a true friend. He couldn't help the fact that her past had finally caught up with her. It was her own damned fault.  
  
On the other hand, part of her was relieved. Sure, she was a Slayer and could escape if she really wanted to. But she had no intentions of leaving. She didn't have to run this time. She could take advantage of her time in prison and confront the darkness and demons that had haunted her for so long. She wanted to redeem herself, and if that meant rotting in prison, then so be it. Now, she had nothing but time on her hands.  
  
Still, something was nagging in the back of her mind. She had let so many people down. She had lied. She had stolen things. She had hurt many people, and not just physically. She toyed with peoples' minds, broke them down and made them miserable, and just when they thought they were as low as they could get, she broke them just a little bit more. And she _liked_ it. Her time in prison could be used to confront her demons, but still, how was she going to make amends with those that she had wronged? How could she redeem herself to all of the people that she had hurt if she was sitting in a jail cell?  
  
Six months had gone by, and Faith continued to think about it. She decided that in order to break the ice, she would write a couple of letters.  
  
_'Let's see, who do I need to apologize to?'_ The first and most obvious person was Buffy.  
  
Buffy had been the one person who had really tried to make her feel like she belonged, and Faith had taken total advantage of her. She was so jealous of Buffy, and she betrayed her at the first opportunity. She had done the most horrible things to her family and friends. How could she apologize for that? _'Hey B, I'm sorry that I picked the Mayor over you. Oh, and that whole body-swap and sleeping with your boyfriend thing? Total mistake. My bad! Hope you can forgive.'_ Yeah right.  
  
Okay. So this might be harder than she thought. But she needed to start somewhere. _'Baby steps, right?'_  
  
While in her cell, Faith pulled out a spiral notebook and a pen, and began to make a list. Buffy was at the very top of the list, but Faith wanted to wait on writing her letter, knowing that she had to do some serious thinking about what she wanted to say. Just below Buffy, she added Giles, Mrs. Summers, Willow, and Xander. But, the list didn't stop there. She also had to add Angel, Wesley, Cordelia, and various other people that she had crossed over the last couple of years.  
  
As the list grew, so did Faith's apprehension about writing the letters. _'Maybe this is a stupid idea. How much can a letter possibly help to ease someone's pain?'_ But Angel had assured her that it would help her in her quest for redemption, even if she wrote the letters and didn't send them. The simple act of getting those things off of her chest would help her in her own journey.  
  
Faith appreciated the visits from Angel. He came to see her whenever he could, which wasn't too often. You know, saving the world and all on a weekly basis kind of limits your time for social visits.  
  
Angel was always kind and caring towards Faith whenever he came to see her. He'd fill her in on the happenings around LA and Sunnydale, and he'd listen to her when she needed to spill. He never judged her, which made it that much easier for Faith to empty her heart out to him. No interruptions, no lectures. Just a shoulder to lean on, and an ear to listen.

**A/N:** Okay, so that's Chapter 1; a little short, but there's a lot of stuff that I need to get out of the way before I can get to the good parts of the story. Feel free to review, it's much appreciated. ( 


	2. Written Redemption

Disclaimer: All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.  
  
Feedback: I'd appreciate it. Feel free to give me pointers or ideas. (  
  
**Chapter Two -- Written Redemption**  
  
**Faith's POV**  
  
Well, I'm finally writing these letters. My first six months here, I thought about what I wanted to say to everyone. Now, I'm finally getting down to it. So what else, you ask, was I doing in that time? Well, hold onto your pants, cowboy. Miss Faith finally decided to get her high school diploma. I figured that if I wanted to write these letters, at least they can look and sound kinda professional. I'm no stupid, ya know? I just never took the time to learn while I was in school, mostly because I was too busy skipping classes.  
  
So, where do I start? Hmm. Giles seems like a good place to start. Now . . . what to say to a guy who took you under his wing when he didn't have to? Who put up with your 'against the grain' behavior? Who you disappointed extremely by playing one side against the other?  
  
Well, his letter is pretty much right to the point. Basically: "I'm sorry that I couldn't see that you were there for me. I'm sorry that I pushed you away when you tried to help. I'm sorry that I was so selfish. I'm sorry that I hurt Buffy (his slayer, his friend, his quasi-daughter). Most importantly, I'm sorry that I let you down."  
  
I don't really know how Giles is gonna react. I think that he may be easier to convince than the others. He knows that I had a rough life; that my parents were fucked up, that my first watcher died in front of me and I couldn't stop it, that I've been running from my problems for as long as I can remember.  
  
I think the one thing that he is really going to dwell upon is the fact that I hurt Buffy so badly. She is more than just a Slayer to him. She is a woman. A friend. A warrior. A daughter. The closest thing to a daughter that he ever had. And me? I tried to fuck that all up; I tried to take that away from him.  
  
Moving on . . .  
  
I wrote a short letter to Mrs. S, thanking her for being hospitable to me when I first arrived. Hell, she was pretty much hospitable to me the whole time, even when I was holding her against her will. She always kinda looked at me with a small glimmer in her eyes . . . like she could see past my hard exterior and into the real me. Almost like a Mother looks into her own child.  
  
In her letter, I also apologized for betraying her trust, for holding her against her own will, for trashing her place, for hurting and being a bad influence on her daughter, and for using her lipstick without permission. Sure, I know that the last one seems trivial, but I want her to know that I remember these things. After all, if someone used my hot-as-hell lipstick, I'd hold a grudge.  
  
Next on my list was Xander and Willow. I wrote their letters on the same day, seeing as that they both were kind of the same in content. "Sorry that I betrayed your trust, that I ignored that fact that you tried to include me in your little gang, that I tried to take Buffy away from you," blah blah blah.  
  
I did put something personal in both of their letters.  
  
For Red, I told her that it was never my intention to replace her as Buffy's best friend; that I knew I could never fill her shoes, and that I knew how much Buffy loves and appreciates her. Even though Red was uncomfortable with me, she was never openly rude to me (besides the occasional eye-roll or annoyed sigh). I guess I kinda egged her on. Oh, come on! It was fun watching her get all flustered.  
  
For Xan-man, I apologized for using him and discarding him. Hell, I'm sure that he didn't mind the sex part. After all, I am a firecracker in the sack. _Smirk._ But he didn't deserve to be tossed aside after the fact, and definitely didn't deserve the 'almost-repeat performance' when I got a little . . . well, choke-happy. I made sure to let him know that he'd make some girl really happy one day (and not just for 7 minutes, like I had taunted him about).  
  
After I sent the letters to G, Mrs. S, Red, and Xan-man, I sat back and thought about what they might think when they receive their letter. I totally understand that they are gonna be pissed at first. After all, I hurt them so bad, and now I'm sending them a letter? It can't make up for what I have done, I know that. But maybe it can open the doors for some sort of understanding or forgiveness in the future.  
  
I have about 25 year or so to work on them, ya know?  
  
I can't help but feel a little guilty for not sending a letter to Buffy. But I'm not exactly sure yet what I wanna say to her. If I write her now, I know that I'd forget to say something, or I would think of something better to say after I had already sent it out.  
  
I guess I'll wait on it for just a while longer. Like I said, nothing but time, right?  
  
So, I tuck my notebook and pen away under my cot, and I recline back for awhile. I don't really mind that my cot is terribly uncomfortable. Not only do I not deserve anything better, but it kind of distracts me from actually sleeping.  
  
I know what you're thinking. Distraction from sleep is normally a bad thing, right?  
  
Well, not for me. See, it seems that almost every time I sleep, I'm totally assaulted by nightmares, dreams, and flashbacks from my past. The flashbacks and nightmares I can deal with. Part of the redemption process, I guess. I've gotta "see my wicked past," as Angel puts it.  
  
What I can't handle is the brain-splitting headaches, the tremors, the ragged breathing, and the messed-up heartbeat that I get when I wake up from them. Yeah, it sucks big time. Someone or something definitely doesn't want me to forget all of the things that I've done. But I guess that I deserve whatever I've got coming to me, right?  
  
So, I try to avoid sleeping when I don't have to. No afternoon naps, no going to be early, etc. But, the lack of sleep catches up with you. After a while, I kinda just get overwhelmed by the pure exhaustion, and I drift off into the abyss.  
  
Here I am no, laying on my uncomfortable cot, just thinking about Buffy and what I want to say to her. I close my eyes just for a moment, playing back memories of our better times in my head.  
  
I'm mentally exhausted, and I don't even realize it as I slowly drift off to sleep.

**TBC**


	3. Haunted Part I

**Chapter Three -- Haunted – Part I**  
  
"Help me understand why   
You've given in to all these   
Reckless dark desires" -- A Perfect Circle, "The Outsider"  
  
_Faith was running through the alley with Buffy, dusting vamps as they went. She had so much adrenaline running through her that it was messing with her senses. Maybe that's why she didn't hear the heartbeat of the guy that jumped out in front of her. Maybe that's why she didn't hear Buffy scream, "Faith, no!"  
  
She reared back, stake in hand, and brought it down into the guy's chest. When she noticed the absence of dust, her senses slowly came back to her. She looked down to her hand to see it covered in blood.  
  
She timidly raised her head to find a pair of surprised and pain-filled eyes glaring at her. 'No. NO. NO!!' she thought to herself. Her eyes remained fixed on the guy as he panted for breath, and eventually stopped. His lifeless body slid down the dumpster and rested on the ground.  
  
"Faith! What have you done?" she heard from a quiet voice behind her.  
  
She turned to face Buffy. "I-I didn't know. I didn't mean to . . . I didn't know."_

_  
  
In a flash, she found herself out of the alley and back at her motel.  
  
Buffy was standing in front of her, looking at her expectantly. "Faith, I want to help you."  
  
The dark slayer just glared at her.  
  
"Faith, you don't get it. You killed a man."  
  
"No, you don't get it, B. I don't care."  
  
Faith couldn't believe that those words had actually come out of her mouth. She did care. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw something. But she just stood there, looking at Buffy defiantly.  
  
"Fine, Faith. If you don't want me to help you, you can rot.  
  
Buffy turned her back and walked towards the door. As she opened the door to walk out, she stole a backwards glance at Faith. Faith had a frown on her face. She was looking down at her feet, and her hands were anxiously grabbing at one another.  
  
"Faith." Buffy tried to get the dark slayer's attention. She didn't ant Faith to rot. She wanted to help her, to be able to tell her that everything would be okay.  
  
Contrary to popular belief, she actually liked Faith. She always felt a special bond with the girl, and wanted nothing more at this moment than to help her.  
  
"Without looking up, faith muttered the words, "Just get out. Go back to your boyfriend. Go back to your friends. Go back to your family."  
  
"You don't have to go through this alone." Buffy stated, trying to show her concern.  
  
"I AM alone." Faith said through clenched teeth, venom lacing her words. Faith lifted her eyes and looked at Buffy.  
  
Buffy couldn't help but notice the hurt and total vulnerability present in Faith's expressions, and the tears that were threatening to fall from her now bloodshot eyes. Buffy's own eyes welled with tears as she saw the tears fall down Faith's face.  
  
Without a second thought, Buffy moved towards Faith and put her hands on Faith's arms.  
  
"No, Faith. You are NOT alone. Don't push me away, I'm right here." She pulled Faith into a hug, wrapping one hand around her back and cradling the back of her head in her other hand.  
  
Faith was tense at first, but relaxed into the hug. She began sobbing uncontrollably. Buffy slowly rocked her, whispering into her ear.  
  
"Sshhh, sshhh. It's okay Faith. I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll go through this with you. You don't have to be alone. Sshhh." Without giving it too much thought, she pressed her lips to faith's forehead and gave her a small, comforting kiss.  
  
Buffy kind of liked this vulnerable side of Faith. It made her feel unreasonably closer to the dark slayer.  
  
But almost predictably, the moment of vulnerability only lasted a moment. Faith quickly tensed up and pushed Buffy back away from her.  
  
Faith yelled. "No! Just get the hell out of here, B!"  
  
Buffy just stared at her, a confused and hurt look upon her face.  
  
Faith's harsh voice softened when she saw the look that Buffy gave her.  
  
"I'm poison, Buffy. I'm poison. Just . . . leave."  
  
Buffy just glared at Faith. She was searching the other girl over, looking for something, anything that told her to stay. But Faith had put her walls back up, and Buffy found no reason to stay.  
  
"I'm sorry, Faith." Buffy uttered. With that, she turned and left the hotel room, and left Faith standing there. Alone.  
  
A moment later, faith fell to her knees, completely take over by her sobs. She wanted Buffy to stay. She wanted her help. But she was afraid that Buffy would get hurt in the process. She had counted on Buffy to offer her help, and she had planned to turn it down.  
  
What Faith didn't count on, however, was that Buffy would give up on her so easily. 'Buffy should've known straight away that I would reject her help. After two minutes, she just gives up. I thought that we were friends.'  
  
Faith slowly stopped sobbing and got up from her knees. 'Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do.' She grabbed her jacket and was out the door. In a flash, she was no longer standing outside her hotel, but inside the middle of the Mayor's office. She had gone there to turn herself in. She had no idea that he had other plans in store for her.  
  
"Well, Faith, I have to say that I'm a little bit surprised. I didn't think that the darkness would hit you like this until after I got to you." The Mayor joked.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Oh, you know. The misbehaving, the killing. I didn't think you would start until after you came to me."  
  
Getting a little bit restless, Faith simply repeated her question, but with a little more anger this time. "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"I knew you would come to me Faith. Hell, I couldn't have planned it better. I sent my deputy out to find you during that ambush. I know that you put your whole self into a fight, and that you just wouldn't be able to tell him from a vampire."  
  
"Wait, are you saying that you set me up to kill that guy?"  
  
"You're pretty quick there, Faithy. Of course I did! I knew that your little goody two-shoes slayer friend would turn her back on you, and that you would come to me. I knew that you would be left along, and trust me, I know how much you hate being alone."  
  
Damn. He really knew how to get to her. It was almost as if he could read her better that she could read herself.  
  
"Yeah, well, I didn't come here to be your pal. I came here to turn myself in. So, if you don't wanna take my confession, then I'll just get outta your hair . . ."  
  
She started towards the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"No, I do want you, Faith. I have great plans for you, my dark little Slayer." He had a large smile on his face. If it hadn't seemed so endearing, Faith may have been creeped out. But she decided to let her guard down a little.  
  
"Oh yeah? What kind of plans?" She asked, her interst piqued a little.  
  
"Aren't you tired, Faith? Tired of always being number two? Tired of working just as hard as Buffy, if not harder, and always letting her take the credit? Tired of never getting the praise that you deserve? I'll tell ya, it's a damned shame seeing your kind of power go to waste."  
  
"I'm tired of not being wanted." Faith had a very solemn look on her face.  
  
"Like I said. I want you Faith. I can make you special. You won't have to vie for my attention. Here, it will only be you. And I, unlike many others, greatly appreciate your work. So what do you say? You scratch my back, I scratch yours?"  
  
Faith thought about it for a minute. Should she betray Buffy? And Giles? And the Scoobies? They obviously weren't benefiting from her presence. After all, she did kill a guy. They would probably want to lock her up, or send her away. 'Oh, no way. There is no way in hell that I'll let them send me off to the Watcher's headquarters for an evaluation. They'll want to kill me' she thought.  
  
She mentally came to the decision that it would be better for her and everyone else involved if she just stayed away from them. At least this way, she could make sure that they didn't get hurt by her hands, or those of the Mayor. It wasn't so much a betrayal as a precaution on her part not to hurt Buffy and the Scoobies.  
  
"So, is this a paying gig?" Faith asked.  
  
"You bet. Anything you want, just name it. What can I offer you besides a nice salary, young lady?"  
  
"I need a place to stay where no one knows where to find me. Some weapons and clothes too. Most importantly, you have to promise me that you won't hurt Buffy or her friends and family, or the deal is off."  
  
The Mayor held out his hand to Faith, offering her a handshake to seal the deal. She extended out her arm and took his hand into a handshake.  
  
Upon contact with his hand, her eyes turned black as oil and her body went rigid. She threw her head back and let out a painful scream.  
  
The Mayor uttered a few words in Latin, and then spoke to the rigid form in front of him.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, I won't hurt your friends" he said with a grin on his face. "You will."  
  
_**TBC **


	4. A Rude Awakening, A Long Day

**Chapter Four -- A Rude Awakening/A Long Day **  
  
"Wherever you are   
You will carry always   
Truth of the scars   
And darkness of your faith" -- Bush, "Cold Contagious"

Faith awoke from her sleep with a start. She was covered in sweat, but her skin was cold to the touch. Her breathing was incredibly labored, and a dull pain spread its way from her head throughout her entire body.  
  
Faith dealt with the reaction the only way that she knew how. She pulled herself up into a seated position and sat Indian-style. She inhaled several deep breaths and began to meditate.  
  
After a couple of minutes like that, she was finally able to relax herself a little. _'Shit. That was one of the most intensive dreams that I've had yet. I thought that maybe they would start to get a little easier by now.'  
_  
  
When Faith had first gone to prison, nightmares like the one she just had plagues her relentlessly. However, she figures that it was part of her 'redemption,' and simply dismissed them.  
  
The dreams weren't so much nightmares as they were visions from her past. But there wasn't really a big difference between the two, faith thought. Her life, in her own opinion, was a giant nightmare. The reason that these dreams seemed so harsh to Faith was because she was now looking at her life from a different point of view. What may not have seemed wrong to her then definitely seemed wrong to her now.  
  
Pretty much the dream that she just had was the one that replayed itself the most. However, Faith was never really given the whole "show." Never once did she get to see the dream through to completion. It had, for her, always ended just as she grabbed the Mayor's hand to seal the deal. As far as she knew it, that is where her dream ended; her memory didn't hold anything beyond that point.  
  
Something or someone had always blocked the rest of the memory from her, thus holding it back from her dream as well. She never saw the Mayor perform the spell on her, and nothing had ever hinted to her that there was anything further about that particular encounter that she needed to investigate.

_'Geez, I can't believe I was so naïve. Why did I reject Buffy's help? Why did I ever agree to work for the mayor? Why was I such a fuckin idiot?'_ Faith thought before settling back down on her cot.  
  
There was no sense in trying to sleep again. _'I guess there really is no rest for the wicked.'  
_  
Faith's mind was flooded with thoughts. Memories of the past swept through her, making her entire body tremble. Suddenly, she heard a sob escape her lips. Then another, and another.  
  
Soon, she was sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
Tears flowed freely from her eyes. She kept seeing Buffy in her mind. _Buffy_. Trying to make her feel welcome. _Buffy._ Inviting her to Christmas dinner at her house. _Buffy._ Coming to the motel to visit her. _Buffy._ Involving her in the nightly patrols. _Buffy_. Pleading with her to accept her help. _Buffy_. Telling her she wasn't alone.  
  
_'Oh God. How can anything I have to say to her make up for how I mistreated her? Words can't help. Not even actions can help. You're an idiot, Faith. You don't deserve her friendship, or her forgiveness.'  
_  
Faith continued to have these thoughts as she laid awake for the remainder of the night. As the lights came on in her cell and she heard the sounds of the other inmates waking up, she snapped out of her thoughts.  
  
Faith had convinced herself that there was no use in writing a letter of apology or explanation to Buffy, not at this point. Nothing she could say or do could make things right. With that, she reached under her cot and pulled out the spiral notebook.  
  
She opened it to the list of names and hesitantly scribbled out the name from the top of the list. _Buffy._

* * *

**Faith's POV**  
  
This day is definitely going by too slow. Sure, every day goes by kinda slow when you're locked in a 8x10 cell. But you do what you can to keep from losing your mind.  
  
I was glad that they let me hop right into the Diploma program. It took up a lot of my time, but I really didn't care. It served as a welcomed distraction. I wanted to do well, so I really dove into it. I guess the fact that I scored a 95% on my final exam just goes to prove that point.  
  
Besides studying, there really isn't too much that an inmate can do. Exercise. Write. Draw. Devise elaborate escape plans. Get off. Sleep.  
  
Every now and then, they give you an hour or two of yard time. But no, not for me. Since I've been here, a couple inmates have taken it upon themselves to try to kill me. Whether it was to prove they were tough, or whether they were put up to it by the watchers Council, Wolfram & Hart, or any number of demon clans, I'll never know. But I'm not gonna stand around and get beat down, ya know?  
  
So I defend myself. I'll throw down, but I don't go all bad-girl and permanently maim anyone. I give them just enough to let them know that I'm not gonna take their shit. The guards know that it's not my fault, so they go easy on me. I get along well with most of the guards; I think they can tell that I'm special (or at least I like to tell myself that).  
  
Still, they think it's not a good idea for me to "mingle" with the general population. Therefore, I get about 20 minutes of solo yard time a day. I get to do my own thing, seeing as that the guards generally let me get away with just a little more that the average prisoner.  
  
I started doing Tai-Chi and yoga, and that's mainly what I do outside. The fresh air, the sun, the space, three things I don't enjoy the luxury of while in my cell.  
  
I know what you're thinking. Being outside and all . . . do I ever get the urge to run? Sure. What does the caged bird want? I know that I can out- run the guards and hop the wll in a cinch. But I don't. I'm here for a reason.  
  
I don't deserve to be out in the real world.  
  
Someday, but not yet. 


	5. More Long Days

**Authors Note:** Thanks to those who have reviewed, you make me smile. ( There will be more character interaction coming up soon, but like I said, I have to establish the basics first.  
  
**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.  
  
**Chapter Five -- More Long Days . . .**  
  
_A couple of weeks later . . ._  
  
On this particular day, Faith had never got her outside time. Seems that there was some sort of commotion among the general population, and all outside time was temporarily halted. _'Damn, I really could've used that time today. I need to release some of this nervous energy'_ Faith thought.  
  
After about two hours of meditating in her cell, Faith was anxiously looking for something to do. As she leaned back in her sitting position on the floor, her fingers grazed along the edge of the notebook under her cot. After hesitation for a moment or two, she grabbed the notebook and hopped up onto her cot.  
  
"Well, now's as good a time as any." Faith mumbled. She opened the notebook to a fresh page and began a new letter.  
  
After about two hours, Faith had successfully written letters to Angel, Cordy, and Wes. She had already made her peace with Angel, but she figured that she should include him on the list, seeing as that she did hurt him too.  
  
She found that the letter to Wes was especially difficult to write. She had tortured him almost to the point of death, very undeservedly. He had only ever tried to make her a better slayer. Even when she came to LA all messed up and psychotic, he still tried to talk her down.  
  
But she didn't want to hear it from him. Not from someone who had never been in her shoes before. She took pleasure in torturing him, and probably would have killed him if Angel hadn't showed up.  
  
Flashback  
  
_"There are five basic torture techniques, Wes. We've already done blunt. That leaves sharp, cold, hot . . . and loud. Let's try . . . sharp." Faith taunted.  
  
A bruised and bloodied Wesley stared back at her impassively from his tied- up position on the chair. He knew that Faith was beyond help at the point. Still, he was having a hard time giving up on her. So, he tried one last time.  
  
"Faith, why are you doing this? I am not going to turn you in, or fight you, or scold you. You've made mistakes. So have I. We all have. You can be rehabilitated. It's not too late for you. Let me help you."  
  
"Aww, you gettin' all paternal on me now, Wes? Well, give it up. You don't wanna help me. You're one of them. You'd kill me at the first opportunity. Who wants a 'rogue' slayer when they can get a fresh new one to mold to their liking?"  
  
"This is no longer about being a Slayer, faith. This is about being human. Human beings do not torture and kill one another, monsters do. Tell me, faith: are you a monster?"  
  
Wes was getting a little bold not, but he figured that he didn't have much to lose.  
  
Faith laughed. "Umm, Wes? Are you sure you wanna ask me questions like that? I think you're forgetting that I'm the one with the power here. I'm in control of this show."  
  
"That's where you're wrong, Faith. You gave up control a long time ago. You have no power anymore, you gave it up when you lost control of yourself."  
  
Faith rolled her eyes and yawned, pretending her best to look bored.  
  
Wes realized that this was a losing battle, so he quit trying to be Mr. Nice Guy. His voice suddenly turned harsh, and full of malice.  
  
"You're pathetic. A shadow. A hollow representation of what you used to be, what you could have been. The Faith that we all knew died a long time ago, and whatever crawled into the void where your soul used to be has rotted you from the inside out. Now either kill me or let me go. I'm obviously wasting my time trying to help you."  
  
Faith couldn't hide the anger and the hurt that she was feeling. Her emotions were battling with each other; anger and hurt, hurt and anger.  
  
Tears sprang to her eyes, but she fought them back, blinking them away before they had the chance to fall.  
  
Anger was winning this battle.  
  
With her knife in hand, she lunged at Wesley. Wes saw the attack coming and closed his eyes, waiting for the attack.  
  
However, before the knife could make contact, Angel had crashed through the door and kicked the knife out of Faith's hand.  
_  
End Flashback  
  
Faith was still sitting on her cot when she 'came back' from her flashback. _'If not for Angel, Wes would have been another one of my statistics.'  
_  
Faith felt ill, and it wasn't the first time. She had been feeling this way since she had finally broken down in LA. Between the dreams, nightmares, and flashbacks, she was starting to feel like she was drowning. Her body had been under a constant distressed state, varying from uneven and ragged breathing, to a racing heartbeat, to profuse sweating, to cold sweats.  
  
The meditation and Tai-chi exercises that she had been doing gave her only a mild and temporary relief. Faith wanted to believe that it would help her through, so she tries to convince herself to keep it up. _'Well, at least it takes the edge off.'_  
  
Still, she was restless, and she longed for a little relief. She grabbed the three letters that she had just finished, put stamps on them, and placed them at the end of her cell to be picked up by the mail cart. She then turned and laid down on her cot, hoping that she could block out her thoughts and meditate a little once again.  
  
After an hour or so, she involuntarily fell asleep.  
  
**TBC**  
  
**A/N:** Please review and let me know what you think. I'd greatly appreciate any feedback that you can give!! 


	6. Haunted Part II

**

* * *

Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.  
  
**Chapter Six -- Haunted -- Part II**  
  
(**A/N:** This dream sequence continues where the last one left off).  
  
_Faith saw the knife fly across the room as Angel tackled her to the floor. She was emitting anger in the same way that the sun emits heat. The feeling was so strong that Angel was almost choking on it.  
  
"Faith!" Angel yelled as he pinned her to the floor. "This isn't you. What the hell is going on?"  
  
"You don't know me, Angel. No one does." She grunted as she struggled against his tight grip.  
  
"Okay. Why don't you tell me who your are then."  
  
"I'm the bad one. The dark one. The disobedient one. The killer. The thief. The slut. The screw-up. The mistake. The dark secret. That's who I am, Angel! I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do, what I'm expected to do, being the bearer of those titles and all." She was screaming now. Her words were rough and broken, and each one came out louder and more feral than the one before it. Her eyes were almost unnaturally dark, and she was struggling ferociously. It was as is she was building up to her boiling point, and she was about to pop.  
  
Angel could sense this, so his course of action changed from a mission of elimination to one of salvage. After all, he had embraced the darkness before, and knew that it could be lethal. She needed a light in the dark, and he was going to be that light.  
  
Angel stood and pulled Faith up with him, but kept a firm grip on her shoulders. When she raised her head, he saw that here eyes were as black as night. He could feel the anger coming off of her in waves. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what.  
  
Faith took advantage of Angel's distracted state and struggled free. She ran from him across the room and jumped out the window. She fell three stories to the alley below and tried to pull herself together.  
  
Before she even had the chance to get to her feet, she heard a thud behind her and turned to see Angel standing there. Thunder was roaring in the distance.  
  
Full of rage, she pulled herself up and stood before him. After a brief moment, she thrust herself forward and began pummeling him with everything that she had.  
  
"Get away from me, Angel!" she screamed. "I'm bad! I'm evil!"  
  
Angel didn't fight back; he merely tried to block her assault. "No, Faith, I won't leave you. You need help. You need my help."  
  
"You're wrong. I don't need you. I don't need anyone! I don't deserve anyone!!" she screamed as her assault on Angel became more fierce. "Fight back!" she ordered.  
  
Angel refused her request and continued only to block her attack. Sheets of rain began to fall around the,.  
  
"I said fight back, Angel! C'mon! Hurt me! Kill me! Just like everyone else wants to! Just do it!!"  
  
"NO. I won't fight you, Faith. I only want to help you. I care about you, Faith."  
  
Faith halted her attack for a moment, almost as if something had come over her and caused her to stop. The thunder struck again..  
  
Faith shook her head slightly and resumed her attack on Angel.  
  
"You don't care, Angel. No one really cares. C'mon! Fight back!" she shrieked, her voice becoming hoarse. Tears burst from here eyes, but she kept attacking in spite of them.  
  
When Angel saw her tears, he knew he was getting to her. He decided to try even harder. He was going to play on her emotions in order to touch her humanity.  
  
"Faith, I do care. Buffy cares. Joyce cares. Giles cares. We all care, Faith. We want to help you. We don't want you to disappear."  
  
He managed to grab both of her arms as she tried to hit him. He continued speaking.  
  
"We need you, Faith. You're important. Please, let us help you, Faith. Let ME help you."  
  
Angel knew exactly what he was doing now. He tried to say her names as many times as possible. He brought up names of people he knew that she cared about. He held her close and looked into her eyes as he spoke.  
  
Whatever he was doing was working, as Faith slowed down her attack and was now only mildly struggling against him.  
  
"I already told you Angel . . . I'm poison. There is NOTHING good about me! I'm dirty. No one can help me."  
  
"I can help you Faith. I've been almost exactly where you are now. I can help you. We need you. We . . . I care about you, Faith.  
  
She struggled a little, but then fell against Angel, sobbing.  
  
Angel wrapped his arms around the shaking girl in a protective embrace. "Shhh, it's okay, Faith. I'm here. I care. I'm going to help you. I care, faith. I won't let anyone hurt you." Angel repeated over and over.  
  
The memory fades to black._

_

* * *

_  
That is the point of the dream that Faith had always woke up at. However, like her other dream, there was a little more that she was always blocked from seeing:  
  
_Angel continued to hold faith as she sobbed uncontrollably in his arms. He rested his chin on top of her head and repeated the words that he had been saying over and over again. He was consciously taking unneeded breaths so that she would feel the rise and fall of his chest.  
  
Suddenly, Faith's eyes turned black, and then transformed into a brilliant white color. The remaining anger let her body in a flash, and she went limp in his arms.  
  
Angel hadn't noticed what happened to the sobbing girl, as her face was tucked underneath his chin and buried into his chest. The rain had also served as a large distraction, seeing as that it had turned into a torrential downpour as Faith was crying.  
  
When Angel felt faith go limp, he scooped up the now unconscious girl in his arms and carried her away from the alley . . .  
  
. . . and away from the darkness.  
_  
**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, I think I've tested your patience enough. Look for a certain visitor from Sunnydale in the next chapter. --Also, reviews are greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thanks!!! 


	7. Did You Forget About Me?

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**Chapter Seven -- Did You Forget About Me?**  
  
"They're asking where ya been, like I know   
Where ya been? Hey Summer, where ya been?   
I tried to tell you, tried to tell you   
Took a little bit too long"  
-- Ben Folds Five, "Where's Summer B.?"

Faith woke from her dream as she had every other time: breathing hard, sweating, and with a pain in her head that traveled through her body before going away.  
  
"What the fuck? This ain't right" she panted aloud. It seemed that her reaction to her dreams was getting worse as each day went by. Not only was her state of being affected upon waking up, but the effects were being carried over throughout the day.  
  
She did what she could to take the edge off. Chain-smoking seemed to take the edge off a little. Vigorous exercise worked too, but on most occasions she was too drained and didn't have the energy. Her last resort was food, particularly candy and sugar-filled treats. Unfortunately, those items were not currently on the prison's menu. Therefore, she had to call in a couple of favors and do some bartering to get what she needed.  
  
It was now 2:00 pm. Faith had been awake for over 6 hours, but she was still struggling from her previous dream. Just when she felt like she was about to scream, and guard came up to her cell and got her attention.  
  
"Kincaid, you have a visitor." Her cell door was opened, and she was escorted to the visitor section of the prison.  
  
When they had reached their destination, the guard unlocked the door and turned to Faith.  
  
"You have 20 minutes, window #7. You know the rules . . . you see the red light, you wrap things up. Be on your best behavior."  
  
"Yeah, thanks Charlie." Charlie had always been one of Faith's favorite guards. He always gave her extra outdoor and visiting time, and let her have a little extra freedom in general.  
  
Faith walked through the visiting room and made her way towards window #7. She wasn't really overly eager, as she thought it would just be Angel coming in to check up on her and get the latest progress report. Hell, she could even feel the little tingles being picked up by her slayer sense. He hadn't been by in a while now, so she figured that he was due for a visit.  
  
She reached the window, but stopped dead in her tracks when she peered behind the glass. It was not Angel, nor Cordy, or anyone else that she may have expected. She had assumed that she would sit across from Gandhi before this would ever happen, but no. Sitting directly across from her at this moment was a less-than-happy looking Buffy Summers.

* * *

Faith couldn't move. She simply held Buffy's gaze for a few moments. Her first instinct was to turn and run, but she knew that the guards would stop her before she reached the door. She had no idea what to do. So she stood there motionless, gazing at Buffy with a shocked and scared expression upon her face.  
  
She had two basic thoughts running through her mind. The first was 'oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit,' and the second was 'oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.' It was probably a good thing that she chose to remain silent.  
  
Finally, she was brought back to reality by Buffy, who was now waving her hand back and forth in an irritated gesture while mouthing the word 'Hellooooo?' Faith shook her head slightly to gain some sense, and she moved to sit down on the chair before her.  
  
Buffy picked up the phone on her side of the glass. Faith was still in shock, so she just sat there glaring at the blonde in front of her. Annoyed, Buffy held out her phone, placed it on the receiver, and picked it back up with an exasperated look on her face, hoping that Faith would follow suit. After a beat, Faith once again shook her head and picked up the phone. She spoke first.  
  
"B-B-Buffy? W-What are you doin' here? Despite her best efforts to appear calm, her voice still trembled.  
  
"Hello, Faith. It's good to see you too." Buffy's tone varied between sarcastic and annoyed.  
  
"You know w-what I mean, B. It's not that I'm not glad to see y-you, it just . . . well, you're the last person that I ever expected to see here." A nervous chuckle escaped her throat.  
  
Buffy didn't respond with words. Everything that she wanted to say at that point was conveyed in a single gesture: she reached into her bag and pulled out a wad of opened and tattered envelopes, held together by a rubber-band. She held them up and displayed them to Faith with a very annoyed look upon her face.  
  
It took Faith a minute to realize that Buffy was holding the letters that she had written to the Scoobies et al in Sunnydale. Before Faith could respond, Buffy started, staring her straight in the eyes.  
  
"Funny thing, Faith. Over the last couple of weeks or so, these mysterious letters started popping up for my friends and family. No one wanted to share with me, but much to their objection and fear for their physical well- being, I read every letter. Each and every word. Now, here's the even funnier part. In these 'letters,' I see a lot of the same thing. 'I'm sorry for hurting you, I'm sorry for betraying you,' and my personal favorite, 'I'm sorry for hurting Buffy'."  
  
By this point, Faith had lowered her eyes and began to frantically play with her hands and bite her lower lip. She knew what was coming next. But Faith's little nervous display didn't deter Buffy, who quickly continued her speech, sarcasm and bitterness engulfing her words.  
  
"So, after I finish reading these letters and laughing at their content, I go home to see if maybe I had a letter waiting for me, seeing as that you are so sorry for hurting me, at least according to the other letters. Now, follow me closely on this one, Faithy, because this one is the real kicker. I get home, and I find a letter waiting there. And I'm real excited now, because I know that I can really use another good laugh. But is the letter for me? Noooo. The name reads "Ms. Joyce Summers." 'Odd,' I think. So, I look around for the letter addressed to Buffy, for whom you are so sorry for hurting. Lo and behold, I discover that there is no letter. I wait a couple of days, and still no letter, much to the disappointment of my funny- bone. I was about to go to the post office and see if there was some kind of error, but I figured that I would come directly to the source. And here I am."  
  
Buffy paused and looked at Faith expectantly.  
  
Faith, for her part, had been silent the whole time. Of course, her hands were almost raw from wringing them so feverishly, and she was completely pale from the sheer shock that had hit her simply by seeing Buffy. With her eyes still lowered, she tried to speak.  
  
"B, I mean Buffy, I d-didn't think that . . ."  
  
"What?" Buffy interrupted, sarcasm turning into anger. She was shouting now. "You didn't think that I deserved a letter? That I didn't need an apology? Or did you just forget about me, Faith? Was I not important enough to make your little list of 'People-I-hope-will forgive-me-for-my- vile-behavior-and-utter-lack-of-humanity'?"  
  
Buffy's little tirade had now caught the attention of the guards, who were cautiously making their way over towards window #7 to investigate. Faith noticed the guards coming over and silently pleaded with her eyes for Buffy to control her emotions.  
  
Buffy saw what Faith was trying to imply, so she calmed herself down and brushed back the hair that had become loose around her face. She gave a small smile to the guards to let them know that everything was OK, and watched as they slowly walked back to their respective posts.  
  
Faith took this opportunity to get a couple of words in.  
  
"Listen B, I didn't forget you. You were number one on my list, but I couldn't think of what to say to you. Where could I even begin? Even though those letters were totally brutal for me to write, they were a piece of fuckin' cake when compared to tryin' to write a letter to you. Nothin' I can say or do can EVER make up for how I acted, and what I did to you. I know that you can never forgive me, B. What I did was inexcusable. I guess that's why I gave up on tryin' to write you. I can't make this better. So, getting back to your question . . . no, I never forgot about you. You're pretty much all I think about."  
  
Buffy didn't respond, at least not verbally. She simply sat back in her chair and closed her eyes.  
  
A few minutes went by like this. Buffy had closed her eyes, obviously lost in her thoughts, and faith didn't want to interrupt her or make her any angrier than she already had.  
  
Faith anxiously awaited a response from Buffy, strumming her fingers on the counter as she waited. Her eagerness finally got the best of her.  
  
"B."  
  
No response.  
  
"B?."  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Hey, B? You still breathing over there?"  
  
Still nothing.  
  
"Buffy? C'mon, I can't take this. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? Tell me, and I'll do it. Just let me know that you're not going to jump through the glass and break my neck. And hey . . . if that's what you wanna do, I won't even stop you. Of course, then it would be you sitting on this side of the glass." Faith began to ramble, so she stopped herself.  
  
Buffy leaned forward, bringing herself closer to the glass. She took a breath as if she were about to say something, but stopped herself.  
  
Faith noticed that Buffy was going to say something, and now she wanted to know what it was.  
  
"C'mon B. Say what ya gotta say. I can take it, I'm a big girl. I'm not gonna . . ."  
  
"Tell me you're sorry." Buffy quietly interjected, her voice barely a whisper. Her green eyes now looked directly into Faith's.  
  
Faith was about to speak, but Buffy continued. "Tell me that you're sorry for trying to hurt my friends and family; for betraying us; for rejecting our help, my help; for running away from your demons instead of confronting them; for passing blame. But Faith, I don't want you to apologize for hurting me. Not yet."  
  
"I'm sorry, Buffy. I'm so sorry. For everything that you mentioned, and more. I polluted your life and the life of everyone that I came across from the moment I walked into Sunnydale. If I could take it back, I would. I would go back in time and let Kakistos kill me like he had been trying to do for so long. But, both you and I know that I can't go back. So, yeah, I'm sorry Buffy. And even though you don't wanna hear it, I'm gonna say it anyway: I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'd give my life to take back the hurt that I caused."  
  
Faith had said the last sentence so low that she could barely hear it. She wasn't even sure if the words had escaped her lips, or if they were just a fleeting thought in her mind. Either way, she lowered her gaze from Buffy's and waited for some kind of response from her sister-slayer.  
  
However, Faith was distracted by the red light that began to flash near the window. _'Shit, only 2 minutes left.'_  
  
Faith shifted her attention from the flashing red light to the small blonde that sat on the other side if the glass.  
  
She was taken aback when she saw a few stray tears falling down Buffy's face.  
  
"Aww shit, B, don't cry. C'mon, I didn't mean to make you . . . man, I hate it when girls cry! I'm sorry . . . shit! I'm still apologizing to you. Listen, we've got less than 2 minutes left. I don't want you to leave here sad, so, come on. Get mad. Bash me, curse me, loathe me. Just stop crying, please Buffy. Please?"  
  
Faith felt utterly heartbroken looking at the crying figure in front of her. She had seen Buffy cry before, but this was different. Something was different. _'Shit, I guess I gave her some deep scars. I never thought little miss Perfect could break.'_  
  
"Faith, I want to believe that you're sorry for everything" Buffy said, emotionally exhausted. "I just don't think I can do it today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. Or maybe even next year."  
  
"But maybe someday, right? Maybe you'll be able to see how sorry I am someday, right B?" Faith was almost excited at that thought.  
  
"Someday, Faith, I _may _believe that you are sorry. But forgiving you? That's a whole different story."  
  
Buffy began to stand, knowing that they had less that a minute left.  
  
"Okay, I accept that, B. but I don't want my last memory of you to be standing here, crying." A pause.  
  
With nothing to lose, Faith decided to push the envelope a little. "Would you come back to see me? Even if it's just to yell at me and throw things at the glass? Do you think that you could? Or would? There's a lot more that I'd like to say to you. It doesn't have to be anytime soon . . . I've got nothing but time. Twenty-five to life, actually." _'Shit, when did I start babbling so much? I must be channeling Red.'_  
  
Buffy thought about it, her internal conflict obvious upon her face. At one point in time, she had decided that faith didn't deserve the time of day. Still, something was nagging at her to let Faith try to make her peace.  
  
After a couple of seconds, she nodded her head affirmatively, then put the phone back on the receiver.  
  
She grabbed her jacket and bag and turned to leave. However, before she left, she turned her head back and glanced at Faith, shooting her a slight smile before walking away.  
  
_'So there's hope . . .'_ Faith thought as the guards led her away, and small smile playing upon her lips.  
  
**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, so there's a little Fuffyness to hold you over for awhile. Trust me, there will be more . . . just not for a couple chapters. Reviews are greatly appreciated and welcomed. Thanks! 


	8. Repercussions

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.  
  
**Chapter Eight -- Repercussions**  
  
"Fleeting visits pass  
Still they satisfy  
Reminders of the next  
Overshadow goodbye . . .  
  
Here we are again saying goodbye  
Still we'll fall asleep underneath the same sky"  
-- The Nixons, "Sister"

* * *

When Faith had returned to her cell that day, she felt as if a large weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.  
  
Did Buffy believe that she was sorry? _Not yet . . . ._  
  
Did Buffy accept her apology? _Not yet . . . ._  
  
Did Buffy forgive her? _Not yet . . . .  
_  
_But maybe someday_ . . . and that was all that Faith needed.

* * *

Two weeks had now passed since Buffy had visited. Faith had been in really good spirits for a few days following the visit. She figures that it had something to do with the little bit of closure that she got from the visit.  
  
Even her sleep seemed to be affected. For those few days, she wasn't riddled with nightmares and flashbacks, and their physical aftereffects. Maybe Faith felt good for those days simply because she was sleeping so well.  
  
However, she noticed that something was missing. Not only was she not having nightmares or flashbacks, but she wasn't dreaming at all. Her nights were silent and still as they should be, but they were filled with darkness.  
  
To a normal person, dreamless or dark sleep wouldn't be an issue. But to Faith, a person who had reached out and touched the darkness and was consumed by it, it seemed like a big deal.  
  
Still, since there were no other negative side effects, she kept quiet and tried not to give it too much thought. For those few days, she felt a sense of . . . peace, for lack of a better word, and she didn't want anything to interfere with that feeling.  
  
Faith simply enjoyed her 'peace' while it lasted, because she knew it was too good to last. Not for her.

* * *

As expected, the peaceful time did not last. After about five days, it all came crashing down one evening in a series of nightmares and flashbacks.  
  
Of course, Faith had been through each nightmare and each flashback before, usually one per every sleep episode. Individually, they had been enough to affect her as earlier described, with the rough breathing, sweating, pain, etc. Individually, those dreams had been almost too much for her to take.  
  
On that 5th night when it all came crashing down, she had seen all of her nightmares and flashbacks consecutively. If one had been enough to cause her pain, imagine what it was like to see them all at once, then repeated over and over.  
  
**FAITH'S POV**  
  
_'What the hell? Why is the light so bright in my cell? Did I get a new cot or something? And why the hell does it smell like a friggin' hospital in here?'_  
  
I slowly open my eyes and start to look around me. The light is hurting my eyes, and I can't seem to figure out why. _'Enhanced Slayer-senses -- MY ASS!'_ After a minute or two of trying to focus my eyes, I realize that I'm not in my cell anymore.  
  
Yep. I'm in the infirmary.  
  
There are a couple of nurses whirling back and forth in the room, too busy with other inmates to notice that I'm awake. I try to sit up, but I'm restrained.  
  
"Hey? Hello? Umm . . . Miss?" I try to catch the attention of a short and stocky nurse that passes in front of me, but she scooted by too fast to hear my hoarse voice.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice someone watching me from behind the glass wall. As soon as he was me notice him, he tapped a nurse on the shoulder and walked into the room, coming towards me.  
  
My eyes are still pretty blurry, and I can't see him straight until he's just a few feet in front of me.  
  
"Faith, are you awake?"  
  
"Angel? Is that you?" I ask while squinting my still-sensitive eyes.  
  
"Yeah, it's me. How do you feel?"  
  
"Umm, kinda like I did mushrooms and got eaten by a bear." I answer.  
  
Angel was right next to me at this point. The face that he was wearing right now made his usually somber and broody face look like a kid smiling at an ice-cream truck. His face was stoic, almost unreadable. Hints of concern, compassion, solemnity, and . . . fear?  
  
"Yeah, that about sums it up." He replies.  
  
I watch him closely as he checks me over anxiously like a mother hen. I finally get annoyed and get right to the point.  
  
"So, are you gonna fill me in on what happened here, or are we gonna play 20 Questions?"

* * *

Angel looked at her earnestly, trying to figure out if she was being truthful or being a smartass.  
  
"Faith, what's the last thing you remember?"  
  
By this point, the nurse had come over and was taking Faith's vital statistics. Faith gave the nurse an annoyed look, trying to make her leave. The nurse caught on and left the two along to talk.  
  
"Umm, I was in my cell, I just came back from dinner. I did a couple sets of sit-ups and push-ups, and decided to take a nap 'cause I was kinda wiped out."  
  
Angel pulled up a chair to the bed and sat uncomfortably close. Knowing that he was about to give Faith some bad news, he took her hand in his as a means of comforting her.  
  
"Faith, I . . you, umm . . . well, you see . . ."  
  
"Spit it out already, Dead-Boy. My tolerance for bullshit is really low right now." Faith stated, beginning to get a little antsy.  
  
"Alright then. I got a call from the prison just over a week ago. They told me that you had some kind of an . . . episode . . . and that I should come down here as soon as possible."  
  
"Why'd they call you? It's not like we're related or anything."  
  
"True. But they don't _actually_ know that. Funny thing? They think that I'm your brother. I just never took the time to correct them."  
  
Faith laughed.  
  
"Riiiiight. I guess they matched your 'tall, dark, and broody' to my 'almost-tall, dark, and sultry.' Guess no one ever cared to check your ID, right Bro?"  
  
Angel gave her a quick smile, but it disappeared from his face almost as quickly as it had appeared.  
  
"Faith, there's more."  
  
"Well, bring it on, big-guy. I'm not getting any younger here. What's the what?"  
  
"Faith, when I got here, you were completely catatonic. Your body was here, but it was like you were . . . hollow. No response to light or any other stimuli."  
  
"Did you try waving a pizza under my nose? That usually gets my attention, or at least it . . ."  
  
"Faith!" Angel interrupted. "This is serious, dammit. Do you think you can stop with the sarcasm and with for a minute and just listen to me?"  
  
Faith fought back the anger, and tried to cover the surprised look that had popped up on her face.  
  
"Geez, forgive me, _Dad_. By all means, continue."  
  
Faith didn't want to let on that she was actually pretty nervous. Hearing that she had been catatonic? Definitely frightening.  
  
"As I was saying . . . you weren't responding to anything. They thought that hearing my voice would bring out some kind of response, but there was nothing. It's like you weren't even in your body."  
  
"So, what made that happen to me? Did I get beat up while I was sleeping or something?"  
  
"Well, according to the guards, they heard you . . . _shrieking_ . . . and ran towards your cell. When they got there, they found you convulsing on the floor, screaming out like you were in pain. The Warden questions the Guards about your activities that day, and it seemed pretty routine. They said that you had your yard time and came back to your cell, leaving only to go to dinner. At 6:30, a guard noted that you were sleeping in your cell. They found you having your _episode_ at about 8:00.  
  
Faith thought about his words for a moment, and then spoke up.  
  
"So, did someone drug my food or something?" She asked, her concern now apparent. She realized that it may have had something to do with her sleep issues, but she needed to rule out some other possible causes before opening a whole new can of worms.  
  
"No, I don't think so. The infirmary ran all sorts of blood tests on you, and found that there were no irregularities or toxins in your blood. Plus, well, I . . . umm . . ." Angel stammered, knowing that what he was about to tell Faith would probably piss her off.  
  
"What's with the face, soul-boy? It looks like someone ran-over your puppy. What are you holding back?"  
  
"Umm, well, don't get all stab-happy, okay?"  
  
Faith nodded, so Angel continued.  
  
"I know that we can definitely rule out any kind of drugs or poisoning, because, well . . . ergh, . . . Itastedyourbloodanditsclean." Angel blurted out.  
  
"You WHAT?!?" Faith yelled.  
  
"I had to, Faith. We needed to be sure that the doctors didn't miss anything."  
  
Faith understood, but she still didn't like the idea.  
  
"Ughh, Angel! That's just so . . . _gross_, and wrong." Faith joked. "Well, I hope ya liked it, 'cuz Slayer-blood is SO off the menu from now on."  
  
"Don't worry, Faith. If I ever get the craving, I guess I'll just have to call that _other _Slayer." Angel joked.  
  
Faith laughed. "Riiiight, I'm sure she'll go for that. Oh! And I hear that you get a punch-card for multiple donations. After 5 donations, you get a free ticket to hell."  
  
The two shared a laugh, almost forgetting where they were for a moment or two. However, Faith decided to continue on a little further with the recent topic of conversation.

* * *

"So, umm, speaking of the _other _slayer, she didn't by any chance bring up the fact that she, umm, cam and, uh, y'know, visited me, did she?" Faith fidgeted and played with her IV while she asked, looking kind of shy and nervous.  
  
Angel knew exactly what Faith was hinting at, so he decided to mess around with her a little before giving in.  
  
"Hmm. Let me think. I know she said the was coming to LA . . . what was it for again? A haircut? Hmm. Yep, that's it. She came for a haircut. She didn't mention anything about a visit." Angel replied with a coy little smile on his face.  
  
Right away, Faith realized that Angel was messing with her, but it wasn't really his persona to joke with people. So, she had to be sure.  
  
"Angel . . . you're fuckin with me, right? She asked, almost a little timid.  
  
When Angel began laughing at her, she felt so stupid, and entirely embarrassed.  
  
"Ha-fuckin-Ha. Pickin' on the sick girl. I see how it is. Real nice, Angel. Hey . . . there' a girl down the row with one arm. Maybe you wanna go ask her to clap for you."  
  
"Aww, what's the matter, little Faith? You like to pick on people, but you don't like it when the tables are turned, now do you?"  
  
The two continued to joke for a couple of minutes, almost as if it were normal to them. It felt really good for Faith. She missed having 'friends,' even though she never really knew how to treat hers when she had them.  
  
"Yes, Faith, Buffy told me that she came to see you. Apparently, she left here feeling a little differently than when she first arrived."  
  
"Yeah? How exactly d'ya mean? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Faith inquired anxiously.  
  
"She told me that she came here to bash you emotionally, and physically too if she got the chance. She was genuinely hurt that you would apologize to everyone around her, and then just forget about her in the process."  
  
"It's not like that, Angel." Faith explained, sounding kind of defeated. "I . . . I just didn't know what to say to her. What do you say to the one person who always cared, and in turn – you totally fucked over? I didn't forget her Angel. I lo . . .  
  
Faith stopped herself, realizing what she had almost just said aloud.  
  
She loved Buffy . . . but she also loved leather, and Jack Daniels, and Nine Inch Nails, and her Marlboro redpacks. But did she _love_ love Buffy? She had never really thought about it in that context, but still, the words were just about to come spilling out of her mouth, and it felt all too natural for her.  
  
She decided to cover up what she was about to say.  
  
". . . lost my chance to be her friend a long time ago." She finished. _'Phew. Score one for the cunningly smooth Slayer'_ Faith thought.  
  
Angel looked at her a little funny, but shook it off and continued.  
  
"Well, that's beside the point right now. All I know is that she came here wanting to yell at you and possibly beat you down. When she left, it was almost like she was happy to have seen you. When I asked her about it further, she only smiled and said that she was happy to have cleared up some of the tensions between the two of you."  
  
Faith smiled a little.  
  
"Yeah, but she doesn't believe that I'm sorry. She said that maybe one day she'd believe me, but not right away. Still, it gives me something to look forward to."  
  
Angel pondered what Faith had just told him. He looked at her with a little glint in his eye, and began to speak again.  
  
"Faith, I can't be sure that what I'm about to tell you is 100% true, but I think that I know Buffy well enough to make an assumption here." He paused, formed his thoughts carefully, and then continued. "I think that Buffy believes that you are sorry. More than that? I think she is already on the path to forgiving you, even though she would NEVER admit it."  
  
"Nahh, I don't think so, Angel. I don't think that there's such a thing as 'forgiving' me, not for anyone. If people actually say the words 'I forgive you,' I know they're just empty words. I understand, and I accept it." Faith said sadly, but with a certain degree of certainty and acceptance.  
  
"Listen to me for just a sec. When I lost my soul back in Sunnydale, I did some terrible things. I taunted, I maimed, I killed, I wreaked havoc . . . _and I loved it._ Buffy sent me to hell for what I had done. But the Powers-that-be sent me back for some twisted reason, and do you know what, Faith? Buffy forgave me. It took awhile, and I still may not have 100% of her trust, but she did forgive me. You just have to give these kind of things time."  
  
"Wait, you can't compare apples to oranges here, Angel. Buffy forgave you because she loved you, and always will. You guys are like soul-mates . . . well, of the tragic variety, anyways. There's too much of a connection there for her _not _to forgive you."  
  
Faith waited for his response, which he gave right after he shot her a very knowing gaze.  
  
"Yeah, well, you can't deny your connection with Buffy either. Before Buffy, there had never been a case of 'The Chosen Two.' You guys share a Slayer connection that has never been experienced before. It's more powerful than any human realization of a bond or connection. I may be her heart-soul mate, but you are her cosmic or mystic-soul mate. It can't be denied, not matter how much hate or tension is between the two of you."  
  
Faith was kind of taken aback by the theory that Angel had just enlightened her with. She liked that idea of being Buffy's 'mystic-soul mate.' She finally responded to him.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. The connection is _wicked_ cool, too. Whenever she's near me, I feel this warm buzz through my body. I can sense her, even when I don't know exactly where she is. It's pretty fuckin sweet."  
  
The two smiled at each other, and Faith began to yawn.  
  
"Listen Soul-boy, I really appreciate you being here, but I'm hella tired, and those nurses are itchin' to get up in here and check up on me. Why don't you head home and get some rest, and I'll do the same here, as soon as the nurses are done with me."  
  
"Actually, I'm kind of trapped here. It's noon . . . sun's out. You just rest, and I'll stick around till sunset."  
  
Faith grabbed Angel's hand as he stood up.  
  
"Hey, Angel . . . thanks for . . . everything." She smiled.  
  
"No problem. Call me if you need me. I'll be here for a couple of hours, and I'll be back before first light."  
  
He gave her hand a quick squeeze and then turned to leave. He glanced back and gave her a quick smile as he walked out of the room, but the nurses were too busy hovering over for her to see.  
  
The nurses took some blood and monitored her statistics before letting her drift off to sleep . . .  
  
**TBC**  
  
**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews!!! I'm turning into a feedback monster. On a separate note, I'll be out of town till Sunday, but I'll try and update when I get back. Keep the reviews coming . . . I really appreciate all feedback. :) 


	9. The Secret's Out

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Chapter Nine -- The Secret's Out**

"She's a girl with the weight of the world on her big brown eyes  
She's a girl who's been talking to herself to apologize  
She'll never do it again she promised  
But then she hasn't been all that honest "  
-----Switchfoot, "Monday Comes Around"

* * *

_In the Church, Faith (in Buffy's body) walks along the back of the hall, towards the center of the aisle._

_Vamp Leader: I thought I told the Cops, no one comes in here.  
__Faith: I'm not the cops.  
__Vamp Leader: Then why are you here?  
__Faith: I'm here to pray. (Raises her arms, looks around the building).  
__Vamp Leader: Slayer. Suit yourself. You can stay for the slaughter.  
__Faith: You are NOT going to hurt these people.  
__Vamp Leader: Yeah? And why not?  
__Faith: (Pause). Because it's wrong.  
_

_Faith charges down the aisle, taking on the vampire minions as they come at her. She is holding herself quite well until the Vamp Leader gets a hold of her and pins her to a pew._

_Vamp Leader: You can't win. Adam has shown me the way. (He leans in to bite her neck, when suddenly he bursts into dust)._

_Faith gasps, only to see her own face looking back at her. Buffy (in Faith's body) has found her, presumably so that she can switch bodies back._

_Faith leaps forward and starts throwing blow after blow at Buffy, making contact and quickly gaining the upper hand. She throws Buffy down on the ground and pummels her face, knowing that it is her own face that she is looking at._

_Faith: You think you scare me? You're nothing! Dirty, disgusting, murderous __bitch! You're worthless. YOU ARE NOTHING!_

_As Faith went to throw another punch, Buffy grabbed her hand, activating the device that Willow had conjured for her. A bright green light envelopes the girls and throws them apart before it fades away._

_Faith, now lying on the ground in her appropriate body, quickly realizes the situation and high-tails it out of the cChurch._

_Cut to Faith in the boxcar on her way out of Sunnydale, her face bruised and bloodied._

_A single tear falls down her cheek, emotion about to take over her. At that moment, her eyes turn completely black and her breathing hitches._

_The somber look that had covered her face has been replaced with anger, and her fists clench tightly at her sides as the "Welcome to LA" sign appears through the boxcar doors._

* * *

_  
_

"Faith? Faith?!? FAITH!?! Come on, wake up, Faith! You gotta wake up!

Angel was leaning over Faith lightly shaking her, trying to break her out of her dream. Doctors and nurses had also surrounded her, machines and alarms going off in the background.

Having lost his patience, Angel finally took drastic measures and slapped Faith hard across the face. The nurses were looking at him like he was the antichrist, but they quickly forgot their harsh thoughts as they saw Faith rouse from her sleep, gasping and blinking her eyes.

"Faith! Are you okay? Are you with me here? Angel asked, then turned his attention towards the doctors. "What the HELL is going on here?!??

"Sir, you've been here the whole time, you've witnessed the entire thing."

The tension that was building between Angel and the doctors quickly faded as they were interrupted by a weak voice.

"Angel . . . what happened?" Faith asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The doctors and nurses didn't leave the two alone to talk this time. As Angel began to talk to Faith, there was a buzz of activity around them.

"I was down the hall in the waiting area, reading like I had been for the last two hours. All of the sudden, I hear this loud shrieking noise, and I realized that it was you. I ran down here as quick as I could, and I found you thrashing in your sleep. The nurse was having trouble containing you, so I jumped in. You had this look on your face . . . like you were in _pain_. All of these alarms on the machines were going off, and your heart-rate was crazy and erratic. I grabbed you and tried shaking you awake, but it didn't work. So . . . I slapped you, and uh, here we are."

Angel gave her a timid smile as he took her hand.

A doctor who was reading a print-out sheet from one of the monitors approached Angel.

"Excuse me, sir? According to this print-out, your sister was dreaming when this episode occurred. Her heart-rate increased and her brainwaves became increasingly erratic. Tell me, has she ever had sleep disturbances or disorders in the past?"

Angel stole a quick glance at Faith, who shook her head and mouthed the word _'no'_.

"No, not as far as I remember." Angel replied.

"Okay, well, we are going to have to run some more tests. She'll definitely have to remain in the infirmary so that we can monitor her continuously. In the meanwhile, I'm going to order a drug that will suppress any dreams and nightmares. I'll let you know as soon as we find anything out."

Angel nodded his head and tried to put on a 'brave face.' "Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor walked away, but several of the nurses remained, checking Faith's IV and doing other basic testing and tasks.

* * *

After about a half hour, Angel and Faith were finally alone. He took the opportunity to question her about the episode.

"Faith, I need you to tell me what has been going on. This is getting dangerous now. If you're holding anything back from me, you better let it go and tell me _NOW_." His voice was completely serious and stern.

"Yeah, I guess it's about time I fill you in." She paused, trying to figure out the easiest way to tell him about the problems that had been plaguing her.

A hint of fear crept over her body, and Angel picked it up almost immediately. He tried to change the menacing look that he knew he was wearing, but he was angry, and it was too late to hide that fact right now.

Seeing the expectant and menacing look upon Angel's face Faith continued her explanation.

"You see, I've kinda been havin' these dreams and nightmares. Not every night though, y'know? So I never really gave it too much serious thought. I just figures, you know, party of the whole 'rocky path' gig. Some of the dreams only make me kinda queasy, while others wreak havoc on me for a while."

Angel seemed to lose his already-thin patience even a little more at this point.

"Okay, a couple of questions. One: How long have you been having these nightmares? Two: What are the nightmares of? Three: Why the hell did you wait to tell me for so long? And Four: You mean the nightmares are actually having a physical effect on you?"

His words had gotten angrier and louder as they came out of his mouth, and he spoke through clenched teeth. Faith could tell that he was genuinely pissed off.

"Alrighty. Well, one . . . I've been having the dreams since I came here, maybe even a little before then. She winced a little while waiting for a response, but she received none, so she quickly continued.

"Two . . . the dreams are not so much 'nightmares' as they are flashbacks of my past. Ranging from when my Step-dad used to beat me, to my dark days in Sunnyhell and LA. Three . . . I figured that with the whole 'redemption' thing, I would have to deal with my past coming back to haunt me. I'm a virgin at this whole redemption thing, so, I don't really know what to expect, y'know? What doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right? And, Four . . . yeah, the dreams affect me physically. Some days aren't so bad though, like I said before."

"Tell me exactly what happens to you when you wake up" Angel demanded.

"Uh, well, it varies. Mostly, my breathing is wicked messed-up. Hot sweats. Cold sweats. Tremors. Pain in my head that takes a little detour throughout my body before going away. But if I meditate for a while, like you showed me, it makes the symptoms . . . a little more bearable."

Angel just stared at her in amazement.

"So, you mean to tell me that not a _single_ red-flag went up in your head when all of this went down? Faith, you should know that this isn't normal! Slayer-sense? . . . my ass!"

"Yeah, that's what I said!" Faith excitedly agreed. However, she quickly sobered back up at the face that she was receiving from Angel.

She continued, sounding exasperated. "Aww, Angel, I don't know, man! I'm all fucked up. I'm outta my element here! My first month in prison, I coulda swore I felt some kind of a supernatural presence, y'know? There are no demons OR vamps here, so I figured . . . me? Crazy. Either that, or my Slayer-senses were all fucked up. I went for the latter, and I just left it at that."

The two had significantly raised their voices over the last few minutes. They had attracted the attention of a few nurses who were now lingering in the area, trying to be inconspicuous as they eavesdropped.

Angel took notice, and immediately tried to calm himself and act rationally. He lowered his voice to just above a whisper and directed his attention back towards Faith.

"Look, this _isn't_ natural, and I think that we can both see that now. I think that there is something mystical at work here, and we need to get to the bottom of it before . . ."

"Right . . . _before_." Faith cut him off, not wanting him to finish his thought.

"I'm gonna call Wes and ask him to look into this. He'll probably contact Giles . . . that is, as long as you don't mind him knowing about the situation. You don't, do you?"

"Umm, no, I guess not. I don't know if they'll be able to help, but I don't mind the effort and all. I'll tell them whatever they need to know." She conceded.

"Okay." Angel looked down at his watch and noticed the time. "Listen, Cordy is gonna be here shortly to pick me up, sunset is soon. But I'll be back first thing in the morning. I'm going to make sure that the doctors give you that medicine to suppress your dreams, and I'll tell them to contact me right away in anything else happens. Until then, sit tight and rest. I'll try to have some answers for you in the morning."

Faith nodded her head.

Angel leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead before he turned to leave. When he got to the door, he turned and flashed her a comforting smile, which she tried to return.

But, her smile was fake, and it was quite obvious. Faith was genuinely scared now. She wasn't sure if she was going to make it through this.

**TBC

* * *

**

**A/N:** Once again, thanks for the reviews. The next chapter is a long one, and it will pretty much set up the rest of the story. All feedback is appreciated. :)


	10. Friends in High Places

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** Someone suggested that I shouldn't send Faith back to Sunnydale. Unfortunately, that is exactly where this fic is headed (yep, it's gonna be a Faith/Buffy thing).  
_However_, if enough people feel the same way, I will create a new alternate second-story that takes place where the last chapter ended, and I'll have a whole different ending. Therefore, "Into the Void" would continue into Sunnydale as I had planned, and an alternate middle-to-ending (which I have good ideas for) would continue in a second story. The alternate story would be Faith/Angel though, so if you don't like that . . . I'm out of ideas. :)  
Feed the feedback monster and let me know what you think about that idea.

* * *

**Chapter Ten -- Friends in High Places**

As promised, Angel returned to the prison first thing in the morning. When he arrived at the infirmary and signed in as a visitor, a guard made his way over to Angel and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

Angel turned to face the uniformed man.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kincaid?"

Angel nodded.

"Sir, the Warden has requested that you come to his office for a meeting. Now that you're here, your sister will be taken there to join in as well."

"Oh." Angel replied, somewhat apprehensive as to what the warden wanted. "Okay. Well, is my _sister_ stable enough to be moved? I can carry her if . . ."

The guard quickly interrupted with an amused laugh.

"No, Sir, that won't be necessary. She's stable at the moment, and will be able to stand a short trip in a wheelchair. So, if you'll just follow me?" The guard began to walk down the corridor, looking over his shoulder just to make sure that Angel was in tow.

* * *

A short walk and several security checkpoints later, Angel and the guard arrived at a large mahogany door. A second guard had seen them approaching and spoke into an intercom announcing their arrival.

"Warden Drake is expecting you. Please go in." The second guard announced, pointing to the mahogany door.

Angel nodded and made his was to the door, knocking gently before entering.

"_Enter."_ He heard a voice on the other door command.

Angel walked into the office and was surprised by what he saw before him. The room looked more like a library or a study than an office. Bookshelves lined all four walls, except for one area where there was a small fireplace. Pictured and framed certificates sat upon some of the shelves, while books and odd little trinkets and gadgets sat upon others.

Out of the corner of his eye, Angel caught a glimpse of someone sitting near the Warden at the fireplace.

"Faith." Angel uttered and he quickly stepped over to her.

She turned her head to him and smiled. "Hey. Good to see ya, Angel."

"How are you feeling? Did you have any more episodes? You look better." He lied. She was looking very pale and . . . fragile? Tired? Weak? Something he had never really seen on her before.

"Thanks. Yeah, I got through the night just fine. No nightmares, no pain. No nothing, really. Just sleep. I almost forgot what that was like."

At this point, the Warden stood up and held out his hand to Angel, who returned the gesture in a strong handshake.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am warden Julius Drake."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Angel." "He looked to Faith, who was giving him a funny look. "Oh! Kincaid. Angel Kincaid. Yep, that's me. Faith's brother, Angel Kincaid. No middle name. You know, because . . . Mom and Dad . . . didn't like any." Angel babbled nervously.

"Ah, yes, of course." Drake replied, his English accent very thick. He continued.

"So, that would make you her . . . _older_ . . .brother, yes?"

In a nervous gesture, Angel shot his eyes to Faith, who nodded very inconspicuously. Both were a little nervous, knowing that they could potentially be caught in a lie.

"Yep, I'm her older brother. That would make her . . . younger."

All three remained quiet for a few moments. Faith closed her eyes and shook her head, in disbelief that Angel was doing such a shitty job lying.

Drake finally broke the awkward silence.

"How many years apart are the two of you?" he asked, obviously trying to dig a little deeper.

"Oh, you know. A few." Angel answered and laughed nervously.

"Yes, well I believe that two-plus centuries is a tad bit more that _a few_" Drake answered very matter-of-factly, a mischievous grin playing upon his lips.

* * *

Both Angel and Faith were now staring at the man with shocked expressions on their faces. How could he possible know about Angel? More importantly, if he knew about Angel, then did he know about Faith? and demons? and all of that other mumbo-jumbo? If so, _what_ did that make him?

Angel's wide-opened mouth quickly bent up into a nervous half-smile. He tried to cover.

"What? That's just . . . impossible. Because . . . you know, umm, humans . . . including me! . . . life expectancy, not _that_ long . . ." Angel stammered.

Warden Drake just looked on amused as Angel spoke, a slight smile upon his face.

By this point, Angel knew he was busted, so he just gave up.

". . . and . . . I don't really _look_ over 200, do I?"

At that, Drake chuckled aloud, and Faith rolled her eyes.

"No, Angel, I don't believe that you look a day over . . . 27? 28?" Drake replied lightheartedly.

* * *

Angel, Faith, and Warden Drake were now sitting around the fireplace with only a small amount of the earlier tension remaining in the room. Angel decided to get to the bottom of things.

"So, would you mind telling me exactly _how_ you know about me, Warden Drake?"

"I am aware of many things, Angel. I am aware that you are a vampire, formerly known as Angelus, and that you are now ensouled and on a quest for redemption. I am aware that Miss Kincaid here is a Slayer, one of two, actually. A truly rare occurrence by any standards. I am aware that you have aided the Slayers and the Powers-that-Be, and that I can trust _you_ to trust _me_."

"Okay. So, now I know _what_ you know, but I still don't know _how_ you know it. Are you a Watcher?"

Drake simply chuckled at the question. Faith sat silently and observed the exchange between the two men with interest.

"No, I'm not a Watcher, though I have been associated with them on more than one occasion. As for what I am, well, that's quite difficult to explain. I began my life as a man. Years into my life, I ascended this plain and became a higher being, closely associated with the Powers-that-Be. But, I missed my association with the world below me. I loved the earth, and I loved the men and women who walked upon it. I felt bound to it, and I longed to walk upon it once again. The Powers granted me that wish, and I was sent back to the earth; more that a man, less than a god. I suppose that you could consider me an oracle, a prophet, a seer, a mystic, a shaman. I'm not quite limited to one title, as I hold many different powers and abilities. For your purposes, you may consider me a mystic, as that is how I am most relevant to you."

Faith finally spoke up.

"So, how'd you end up here, as the Warden of this prison? I'd think that you would've picked something a little . . . ritzier? Y'know? Like . . . King of Guam, or Emperor of Earth, or The Grand Puba or something."

Drake chuckled yet again.

"Yes, I imagine that "King" or 'Emperor' might have been more regal, but that was not my calling. Understand this: though it is my choice to help as I see fit, I am often given ideas as to where my help may be needed. Many years ago, it was revealed that a 'warrior of the people' would lose her way, and that she would need protection and guidance as she found her way. Now, I've already told you that I love the earth and its inhabitants. I was offered a chance to help a defender of good and of the people that I love. I graciously accepted."

"So, you knew then. You knew what would happen to me, that I would end up here." Faith stated, her tone more questioning that sure.

"No, not quite. First, I wasn't aware that 'the girl' would be a Slayer, though I did have my suspicions. Next, I had no idea that it would be you, Faith. Not even when you were sent here did I know that you were the girl I was waiting for. I had to find out by my own means. Lastly, I did not know what circumstances would bring you here to me, whether it be armed robbery, assault, or . . . well, murder."

Faith immediately lowered her head in shame. He continued anyway.

"Don't hang your head, Faith. What I'm going to reveal to you will ultimately change what you_ think_ you know about what happened in your past. Please . . ." he gently placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head so that their eyes met, ". . . let me finish. I promise, it will be worth the wait."

Faith nodded sheepishly, and Drake continued.

"Excellent. So, as I was saying, I had been expecting 'the girl' for some time. Every evening, I would do a locator spell of sorts, searching for mystical energies throughout the prison. Then, just over a year ago, I finally felt the mystical energy that I had been looking for, and it was you. Through a series of different confirmations, I determined that you were one of the Chosen two, and that you were that the one for whom I had been waiting."

"So, I _wasn't _crazy when I first came here. My slayer-sense _was_ going off. I knew I felt something mystical in this place. But then It was just gone. It was you, wasn't it?" Faith asked.

"Yes, it was me. It took me too long to realize that you would be able to feel me as well. I did a cloaking spell on my magic shortly after you arrived, and that is why you haven't been able to sense it since then."

"I guess it all makes sense then. But, on a somewhat unrelated topic . . . are you still workin' the magic-mojo on me? Is that why my dreams are tryin' to kill me?"

"No, Faith, I wouldn't try to hurt you. As I said, I'm here to protect and help you. But, I have sensed some other energies as well. Two types, to be exact. The first one is nothing to worry about, I believe. It seems that the other Chosen, Buffy, has been trying to feel you with her slayer-sense. I can feel her energy mostly every evening, but I have sensed no negative consequences as of yet. There is not hatred or malevolence on her part."

Faith had become slightly distracted at the mention of Buffy. _'So, she's been trying to sense me? Must want to make sure that I'm still rottin' away in here and not wreaking havoc out on the streets. But, why isn't there hatred? I'm pretty sure that she's gotta hate me after all that O did. If I were her, I would hate me. I'll have to check up on that another time.'_

She was brought back to attention my Drake, who continued his explanation.

"Then, there is the second type of energy that I have been feeling, and this one is not 'nice' like the energy from your sister-slayer. It is a dark energy, pure of form and lacking a point of origin, at least as far as I'm able to sense. I can't be sure where it is coming from, but it is aimed directly at you, Faith. It surrounds you at times, completely engulfing you, hence your dreams and episodes. It is slowly draining you, slowly but surely. I fear that in time, it will eventually take over you completely, or kill you. The effect it has on you is almost like a remote-control self-destruct button."

"Shit." Faith replied. She was suffering from a total and utter lack of words. Fear was not a strong enough word to describe what she was feeling.

* * *

Angel finally broke his silence.

"So, you don't know where the dark energy is coming from, we get that. But can you stop it, or distract it? He asked almost impatiently.

"I'm sorry, but this is not a type of magic that I can stop or fix. It is far too dark and dangerous. But, like all things mystical, there has to be some sort of a countermeasure. We simply need to find and launch it. And that, my friends, is why I have called you both here to meet with me."

Faith unconsciously laughed aloud at Drake.

"Yeah, well, I really don't think there's too much that I can do about it while I'm in here. Plus, I've been a little too horizontal even for my own liking as of late. I'm useless in this search, at least for now." Faith noted sarcastically.

"Precisely." Drake said with a knowing smile. "This is where I come in. I'm going to release you, Faith. You are like a sitting duck here, and you can be better protected and studied outside of these walls. As the Warden of this prison and as a mystic, I'll be able to change some of the paperwork and release you on good behavior. For aggravated assault, not murder."

Both Faith and Angel looked a little shocked. They met each other's gaze, and then turned to Warden Drake.

"You can do that?!?" they asked simultaneously, a hint of skepticism and disbelief lingering in their voices.

"Yes, I can, and I will." He stated with a proud smile. Then, his face turned serious and he looked to Faith. "Having two Slayers at one time is a truly rare occurrence. The world will be a better and safer place with you living in it, helping as you go along. True, the events of the past have hindered your growth as a Slayer, but I don't believe that you are solely at fault. The dark energies appear to have been around you for a while now, beyond your time in prison."

Angel interrupted.

"Wait . . . are you implying that the dark energies may have controlled her at some point or another?"

Drake nodded.

"Yes, I believe that may have been a contributing factor to her allegiance shift. I'll speculate even further and assume that the darkness wants back in her, and _that_ is why she has been plagued by the nightmares and dreams. It all seems to be inter-connected. The dark magic is too much for her, and it is slowly breaking her down. We need to find a way to stop the dark magic before the darkness consumes or kills her."

"Geez. Don't you think it would be easier to just let whatever this is kill me? A new pliable and trainable Slayer will be called, and no one will have to put up with this shit."

"No, I don't think that would be easier, nor would it benefit anyone. First, a human life, _your_ life, would be lost, and that is more than I am willing to risk. Second, you are already too closely tied to the other Chosen. If that bond is broken, the other Slayer would no doubt feel lost and alone again. Her duties would be shirked, and she would be lost to us. As I said before . . . to have two Chosen is a rare and unique occurrence. A _gift_. It would be tragic for us to lose it."

Faith nodded, as if she understood what Warden Drake was trying to imply. However, she was jumping and smiling on the inside. Simply know that she shared such a great bond with Buffy made her almost giddy.

After a moment or two of silence, Drake spoke up again.

"I trust that you have someone on the outside that can help research this for you?"

Angel thought about it, and then nodded.

"Umm, Wes is an ex-Watcher, so he can definitely help with the research aspect. Cordy has visions, so maybe she can find a way to tap into them to look into this for us."

"Yes, that is a good start. But I think that more help will be needed. Faith is in an extremely fragile state, and will need someone by her side to protect her from harm."

"Yeah, well, vampire here, with the super strength and senses, and the resilience, and the grrr and argh. I think I've got it covered." Angel responded sounding kind of hurt that Drake would forget his abilities.

"Yes, of course. But tell me, Angel: What happens during the daylight hours? Can you defend her at all times of the day?"

Angel didn't reply. He simply hung his head, defeated.

Drake spoke again.

"Exactly. I know that you may not like this idea . . . but I think you need to call upon the other Chosen. She alone can offer the protection that Faith needs." A pause. "I know that she is busy on the Hellmouth, so it may be in both your and her interest for you to go to her. Her Watcher is very knowledgeable and wise, and will help without putting up a fight. He will not want to fail Faith yet again."

Angel and Faith glared at each other for a couple of moments, both hesitant to agree with the idea. However, they both knew that it was the best plan of action at the moment.

"Well then, saddle up, boys and girls. I guess we're off to Sunnydale." Faith conceded as she threw up her hands in defeat.

**TBC**


	11. Reacquainted

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Chapter Eleven -- Reacquainted**

Faith was released into Angel's custody four days after the meeting with Warden Drake. Before she left the prison, Drake had invited her and Angel into his office. While there, he placed several protection spells upon her and performed a Zedalyde Ritual, which in effect bound her soul to this plane.

He also gave her a supply of the medication that suppressed her dreams. However, Drake warned her that her body seemed to be building up a tolerance to the medication already, and that it would soon lose its effectiveness on her.

Lastly, Drake promised to watch out for her while she was out of his care. He mentioned that he would contact some friends on a higher plane and try to get any useful information out of them.

With that, Angel led Faith out of the prison and towards the SUV that waited to take them to Sunnydale.

* * *

As Cordelia and Wesley waited in the SUV for Angel to return with Faith, they had discussed the fact that neither one of them trusted Faith still. Angel had told them what had been happening to Faith, and asked that they give her a chance. Still, they were under the belief that Faith was faking the whole thing in order to escape from prison.

They mutually concluded to remain on full alert while in her presence.

However, their sense of alert quickly faded when they saw a weak and timid-looking Faith being slowly led to the vehicle by Angel. He had and arm around her waist and in turn, her arm was draped over his shoulders.

Her face was this and pale. Her once toned and buff body now seemed too this and frail. It wasn't the Faith that they had once known, not even as she tried her best to put on a smirk and toss out a playful line.

"So, my fans await." She timidly joked. "I'll have to ask that we hold off on autographs 'til later. Might not wanna give the convicted felon anything sharp to play with, like a pen." She forced out a hoarse laugh.

Suddenly, Cordelia and Wesley felt full of concern and sympathy for the girl.

"Hello, Faith." Wes simply replied, a compassionate look on his face.

"Hey Faith." Cordelia added, her face a mixture of concern and disbelief. "Angel, get in the front with Wes. I'm gonna sit in the back with Faith. You know, do the girlie-bonding thing."

She got up out of the passenger seat and moved to Angel, who was still supporting Faith. She slid between Angel and Faith and ducked her head under Faith's arm. After sliding her arm around Faith's waist, she led her towards the opened back door and away from Angel.

"Um, oh . . . uh, Cordy? Are you sure that you have her? Angel fretted as Cordelia helped Faith into the back seat. "I can help, or . . . uh, well, just be careful. She's kind of weak right now."

Faith looked embarrassed at the concern that was being shown for her. She had never really been taken care of before.

"Uh, Angel . . . I'm right here, y'know? I can hear ya. Besides, I'm not _that_ weak. It's just the meds that I'm on. Give it a couple days . . . slayer metabolism will get them outta my body, and I'll be good as gold, baby. Trust me. I'm five-by-five." Faith stated, a little smile playing across her lips.

Cordelia laughed aloud and rolled her eyes playfully.

"God, Faith, 'five by five'? Are you still using that phrase? And if so, are you ever gonna let us know what it means?" Cordelia teased the other girl as she helped buckle her in.

Faith looked down at Cordelia's hands as they brushed across her abdomen while trying to buckle the seatbelt. Her trademark smirk crept up on her face.

"Hmm . . . well, if you keep up the T.L.C. that you're givin' me right now, I'll let you in on _all_ of my secrets, Queen C." Faith replied, waggling her eyebrows.

Cordelia laughed. "And there, gentlemen, is the Faith that we all know and adore."  
  
The four laughed as they finished settling into the vehicle. After checking that they were ready, they began their journey to Sunnydale.

As they drove away, Faith looked back at the prison that had been her home for more than a year. A sense of loss came over her as she realized that she might never be able to fully finish her quest for redemption.

However, the sense of loss quickly faded as thoughts of Buffy and Sunnydale flooded her mind. If she played her cards right, she might be able to earn Buffy and the Scoobies' trust and forgiveness once again.

That is, if she lived long enough to do so.

* * *

The ride to Sunnydale seemed to take a lifetime, at least for Faith. She was exhausted, and her body and mind were in desperate need of sleep. She had the medication to suppress her dreams, but she was still too scared to even take a little nap.

Cordelia could sense that Faith was trying to stay awake, so she tried to make small talk to entertain the girl. Wes and Angel remained quiet in the front seat, listening to the conversation but not partaking in it.

"So . . . Faith. Are you nervous about going back to Sunnydale? I mean . . . 'cause I know that _I'VE_ been avoiding it. Like the plague." Cordelia nodded very matter-of-factly.

"Normally, I would be CRAZY nervous about going back to SunnyD. Bad memories, y'know? I guess I should feel pretty hesitant, especially with the whole 'I-tortured-and-or-maimed-several-of-its-inhabitants Thing.' I caused some major trouble there, even outside of my clashed with the Scoobs. But oddly enough? I've got too many other things on my mind right now to sweat the small stuff. Y'know what I mean? I've got other things to be nervous about."

"Yeah, I get it. So, tell me what's on your mind. In your own words: what's making you nervous?" Cordelia asked. She thought that if Faith would talk about her problems, it might make them a little easier to deal with.

"Oooookay. First? I'm wicked-scared that this dark magic shit is gonna make me go all 'Evil-Faith' again. Warden Drake said that maybe it was the darkness that made me all psycho-slayer before, and I was hella-strong back then! Imagine what it could do to me right now, being all weak and tired and shit."

Cordelia nodded. "Right. I can see why that would make you nervous. Why else?"

"Secondly? If the darkness doesn't consume me, it's gonna kill me. That is, if you guys don't figure out how to stop it. And that leads me to reason number Three."

"And that is . . . ?"

"I HATE the fact that you guys have to put up with this shit. Me? I don't mind dying for a good cause, or as a part of my redemption, or even to lift the burden off of any one of your lives. I've come to terms with that, and I accept it. But everyone is already in too deep. If I die now, you guys are gonna feel like you failed me, and that's not true in the least bit. Just having you guys help me now, after what I've done . . . means so much to me. You all have gone above and beyond already. I don't want any of you to feel bad if things don't work out as planned. So, yeah. That's a big factor."

Cordelia smiled at the timid girl next to her and gave her a small slap on the arm.

"Now Faith, you should know that NOBODY makes Cordelia Chase do something that she doesn't want to do. I may have been . . . reluctant . . . at first. I mean, after all, you did break into my apartment, elbow me in the face, and cause me temporary disfigurement. BUT . . . that's all in the past. I'm here right now because I _want_ to help. If that dark magic or darkness or WHATEVER was controlling you before, then you, yourself, are not guilty of the things that you did. You were merely a cute little leather-clad puppet, and you can't be held responsible."

"Thanks Cor." Faith said with a smile on her face. She felt genuinely happy that Cordelia had said that to her, mainly because she knew that Cordelia always 'tells it like it is,' and that she wasn't lying about wanting to help.

Cordelia, however, decided to sneak in a little bit more to her diatribe.

"Besides, I know that you've gotta be telling the truth."

Faith knitted her eyebrows together. "Oh yeah? How's that, C?"

"Because not even 'evil-skanky Faith' would let herself get into the condition that you're in now, just to get out of prison. Say it with me now, honey: Sunlight is _goooooood_. Anorexic-supermodel body type is _baaaaaaad. _You need some UV rays and some McDonalds, stat!"

Even Angel and Wes were laughing in the front seat now.

"Gee, thanks Cor. Way to make the sick girl feel better about herself. I think you've been hanging out with Angel too much." Faith stated, recalling the teasing that Angel put her through in the infirmary.

A glimpse of her old-self ran through Faith as she decided to press on a bit further.

"Still. Ya gotta admit one thing, Queen C," Faith stated as she ran her hands along her sides and licked her lips, "Even pale and bony? I'm still a fuckin fox." Faith smirked playfully and winked at Cordelia, who was wearing a huge smile in return.

"Okay, I'll admit it. You're still a hottie. Like I said, all you need is a couple of rays and some take-out, and you'll be bangin' in no time at all, and I'm always right about stuff like this. It's just too bad for you that my door doesn't swing that way."

"Don't worry, Cor. Even though my door may swing both ways, it's not currently open for business, if ya get my ever-so-subtle drift. I'm keepin' it strictly vanilla. Still, let's not forget that I'm not dead yet, and that as long as there is an opportunity for a crude joke or an off-the wall innuendo, I'll be there to dish it out."

Cordelia laughed, as did Angel and Wes.

From the front seat, Angel muttered under his breath, "You can take the girl out of the wild . . ."

Faith promptly finished the sentence for him, ". . . but you can't take the wild outta the girl. Damn straight And don't you forget it, either!"

* * *

After the laughing stopped and silence once again fell over the vehicle, Cordelia decided to press Faith even further. 

"So, now back to the topic of your door swinging both ways, and being closed for business and whatnot. I have to ask . . . I always thought that you were a straight-shooter, Faith. What's the what? Are you?"

"Nope."

"Then . . . back to the door analogy, and 'swinging both ways' and everything. Should I assume that you're bi-sexual then?"

"Hmm. Nope, I don't think I am."

Cordelia sighed, frustrated at Faith's vague answer.

"So? Come on! Are you gay? That would explain the leather fetish . . . and you taking Buffy to Homecoming . . . and the innuendos at me and any other girl . . . and . . . come on, save me here, Faith!"

"What the shit? No, I'm not gay, either. What's with all the questions???" Faith answered quickly. She didn't like the direction this conversation was headed. She glanced to the front seat to silently plea with Angel for help, but he was doing his best to pretend like he wasn't listening.

Cordelia continued.

"If you're not straight, not bi, and not gay, what the hell are you? And I'm trying to make a point here, so just go with me here for a minute."

Faith exhaled sharply, and then remained quiet for a moment or two. She decided to play along with Cordelia's little 'game'.

"Y'know what? I really don't know what to consider myself. I would normally say straight, but . . . y'know . . . all female prison . . . _long_ incarceration. But as of late, I'm not interested in the kinks and games that I used to be. Guess I don't see the point in it anymore. I'm definitely not gay, 'cuz I think both men and women are beautiful, y'know? I'd be happy with either, as long as he or she was meant for me. Then again, I wouldn't consider myself bi, either."

Cordelia stifled a laugh. "Umm, Faith, I hate to burst your bubble, but if you like guys and girls, and would be happy to end up with either? . . . you're bi, honey."

Faith thought about it. "I have to disagree with you there, C. Being bi means that you're attracted to both men and women. But like I said, I'm not into the kinks and games anymore." Faith paused, trying to form her thoughts into words. She hadn't realized that she started speaking aloud again. "I found someone who makes me disregard the rest of the world in that way. When I'm around her . . . I don't find anyone else compelling or attractive, because all I see is _her_. So, like I said, I guess I'm not bi either. I'm . . ."

Cordelia interrupted with a smile on her face, ". . . in love with Buffy." She said it gently, but almost as if she had 'won.'

Faith was quickly snapped out of her thoughts when she her Cordelia's words. She put her hands up over her mouth in an effort to stop any other treacherous words from escaping, but it was too late. The damage was done. Now everyone in the vehicle knew her deepest secret.

She was still wearing a shocked expression on her face when she removed her hands from her mouth in defeat. She gave Cordelia a pleading look, almost as if to say, 'Don't make fun of me, pleeeeeease!'

Cordelia caught on.

"Oh. Don't worry Faith. I already knew it. Angel knew it. Hell, even Wes knew it, and you know that he's normally Mr. Clueless. I just wanted you to realize it, and to get it out in the open. We're not judging you, honey. In fact, I think it's kinda cute." Cordelia stated.  
  
Faith's state varied between confusion, fright, disbelief, shock, and anxiety.

"How? What? How? And . . . cute?"

"Oh, please, tough-stuff. I can tell that you love her just in the way that you respond when someone mentions her name. Plus, I _was_ there in Sunnydale before you went all 'grrr' and 'argh.' I'm not blind. Plus, vision-girl here, remember? You loved her even then. And the hole 'cute' issue? It's like when a little boy likes a little girl . . . he runs up to her and punches her, then runs away. Kinda like you and Buffy. Only . . . with the bruises and cuts, and the whole stabbing thing . . ."

Cordelia drifted off in thought. She was brought back to attention by Faith, who began feverishly speaking, addressing everyone in the vehicle.

"Listen, even if you guys know now, you can't tell Buffy. EVER. She doesn't need to deal with that, on top of everything else that's going on with me. I can hope to maybe earn her trust some day, and maybe if I get really fuckin lucky, her forgiveness. But I know she'll never love me back, at least not in the sweaty and panty way that I would like. If this gets out in the open, it'll ruin any chance that I have at a quasi-friendship with her. So please, just let it be."

Cordelia smiled a little, as did Angel and Wes.

From the front seat, Angel could be heard singing, "Faith and Buffy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G . . ."

Faith exhaled sharply and closed her eyes. She muttered under her breath. "OOOOH, you just wait, Soul-boy. I get my slayer-strength back and you and I are gonna have us a little rumble. Hope you're ready for an old-school ass-whoopin."

Angel stopped singing and chuckled at Faith's threat. Cordelia laughed as well, and finally spoke to break the two up.

"Don't mess yourself, Faithy. We're not gonna say anything to the Buffster. You just needed to realize it for yourself. I think I got my point across. And seeing that we were talking about your fears of returning to Sunnydale, that one needed to be put on the table with the others."

Faith understood what Cordelia was getting at.

"Right. Fear number Four: That Buffy will find out that I love her, and it'll ruin everything."

Cordelia smiled a genuine smile. "Congratulations, kiddo. You pass."

Finally, Wesley spoke up.

"Well, I do hope that you're ready to confront you fears and face your demons" he stated as he pointed to something out the front of the windshield.

A small tremble went through Faith as she watched the moonlight spill over the road in front of them, illuminating the _'Welcome to Sunnydale!'_ sign in a perfect splendor.

**TBC**

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone has reviewed. You guys really make me smile. When I smile, I type faster. HintHint The next chapter brings up right into the heart of Sunnydale: The Summers' House. Please R/R. :) 


	12. Welcome to Sunnydale Part I

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! Yes, they made me smile, and type faster! So, here is your next _long_ chapter. I didn't realize it got this long, so I ended it here, and it will pick up in the next chapter (Chapter 13). As always, let me know what you think. :)

* * *

**Chapter Twelve -- Welcome to Sunnydale**

After about a 10-minute ride, the SUV finally pulled onto Revello Drive. Faith had noticeably tensed up, her nerves taking over her.

Cordelia glanced over at her and gave her a warm smile. Without hesitation, she grabbed Faith's hand in her own and gave her a little nod, as if to say _'don't worry, everything's going to be okay.'_

Faith closed her eyes as they pulled into the driveway. She kept them closed as she heard the car engine turn off, and as she heard Wes, Angel, and Cordelia step out and close their doors.

'_Maybe if I don't open my eyes, I'll find that none of this is really happening. I'm not really at Buffy's house, about to walk in and beg for help. I'm not sick, and I'm still sitting in prison having a wicked weird dream. Hell, maybe I'm even back in Boston, Slayer-free, laying in bed and waiting for my alarm clock to ring before I go to school. Maybe this was all a dream.'_

However, Faith was broken from her thoughts as she heard her car-door open. She kept her eyes closed tightly; still hoping that maybe it was all a dream. Her body suddenly shook as a familiar tingle ran through her. When she felt a gentle hand on her arm, she slowly opened up her eyes and looked up to face a concerned-looking Buffy.

Shock. Pure shock is what she was feeling. Shocked that she wasn't getting pummeled. Shocked that Buffy wasn't yelling at her. Shocked that Buffy didn't look angry. At all.

"Hey, B. Wasn't expecting to see _you_ standin' there. How goes it?" Faith tried her best to put on a smile, but her anxiety was too high, and a shaky grin was all that she could muster.

Buffy shook her head as if trying to snap out of her thoughts, and responded.

"Eh. Another day, another apocalypse. How about you?" She asked as she helped Faith out of the car.

"Y'know me, B. Five by five, all things considered."

Faith tried to hop out of the car like she would have back in the day, almost forgetting her current state. When her feet hit the pavement, her legs buckled and she began to stumble.

Buffy immediately tightened her grip on the shaky girl, sliding her spare arm around Faith's lower back and guiding the other girls' closest arm over her shoulders.

Faith, taken aback by Buffy's action, looked at Buffy with a semi-shocked and confused look upon her face. "Umm . . . thanks, B. Guess I'm not quite up to the hoppin' and the walkin' yet." Her cheeks turned a little pink as a hint of embarrassment crept over her.

"It's no problem Faith, I've gotcha."

* * *

Angel, Cordelia, and Wes looked on with a little bit of shock.. Angel had never expected Buffy to be as concerned or as receptive as she was being right now.

You see, Angel had been giving Buffy daily updates of Faith's state since the first day she was sent to the infirmary. She seemed a little skeptical at first, seeing as that Faith had seemed fine when she came to visit. Still, she showed her concern by asking questions and demanding updates on any changes in Faith's condition.

Shortly after Angel had met with Warden Drake and Faith in the prison, he contacted Buffy right away to make arrangements. He explained everything that Drake had told them, and made it clear to Buffy that Faith _needed_ her help.

He was surprised that Buffy didn't put up a fight, and he questioned her on it.

'_I don't know why, Angel. If what you said is true; if Faith wasn't in control during her bad-girl times, then I guess I really can't hold anything against her, can I? I mean, I'm gonna have to talk some things out with her, and we'll have to see what our research uncovers. Still. Until then, I'm gonna give her a chance. I don't wanna fight with her anymore, not if I don't have to.'_

'_Well, that's really reasonable and mature of you, Buffy but how are the Scoobs gonna feel? They don't share the connection with Faith like you do. They don't really have a reason to WANT to forgive her.'_

'_I know. But they're a pretty understanding bunch. If they know that Faith wasn't behind the wheel during that whole car-wreck, they're not gonna be all blame-y. They'll ease up, eventually. Don't worry, I'll fill them in on the what, and I'll MAKE them deal if I have to.'_

* * *

_  
_

So, back to now . . .

Buffy began to walk her sister-slayer towards the front porch when she subconsciously began to feel along Faith's side and back with the arm that was supporting her there.

"Geez, Faith. I can feel your ribs! How much weight have you lost? I couldn't tell that you were this skinny when I came to see you . . . guess the jumpsuit covered it all up."

Faith shrugged.

"I don't really know. They didn't exactly serve up portions that fulfilled my 'Daily Slayer Nutritional Requirements,' if ya know what I mean. Between that and the whole 'lack of sleep' thing, I guess I kinda slimmed down a bit."

Buffy looked at her incredulously, eyebrows raised.

"A bit? Looking at you makes me think of one of those way-too-skinny waif supermodels of the 90's. Oooooh! I've got it now . . . a vampire supermodel. Say it with me girl: sunlight is our friend. Helps fight the pastiness. You need some sun and some take-out."

Cordelia laughed aloud in the background, overhearing what Buffy was saying.

"See, Faith? I'm always right. Don't you forget that!" Cordelia taunted playfully.

Faith turned her head around to look at Cordelia. She shot her a huge grin while popping her middle finger up in response, then mouthing the words _'Fuck You, C.'_

Cordelia laughed again, then said sarcastically, "Fuck _me_? I don't think so, Faith. I already told you: my door doesn't swing that way. Besides, aren't you holding out for someone else???"

Faith's jaw dropped in disbelief and her eyes just about bugged out of her head. She gave Cordelia a menacing look and a shake of her fist before turning back in Buffy's arms.

"What's _that_ all about? Care to share?" Buffy inquired, her interest piqued.

"It's nothing." Faith answered a little too quickly. "Cordy's talking out of her ass again. Best to disregard and ignore anything she says."

Buffy smiled slightly in response. "Ooooookay."

* * *

Buffy pushed the front door open and led Faith into the house.

"Some things never change." Faith stated as she looked around the house, noticing that it looked exactly the same as the last time she was there.

"Yeah. I kind of like it that way though. Always something familiar to come home to. Makes me feel kind of safe, you know?"

Faith nodded, even though she really didn't know the feeling that Buffy was talking about. When she was younger, her own home was _never_ a safe haven, and since she was called as a Slayer, she had never had a permanent place to call home. Always some shitty motel that lasted only until she would skip out of town and make her way to the next shitty motel.

Jail had been her only safe-haven, and that in itself was pretty shitty.

Faith snapped herself out of her thoughts and continued to look around. She saw a couple of people standing in the kitchen. Some of the faces were familiar, and some were new. One face, however, seemed to be missing from the bunch.

"Hey . . . where's Mrs. S? She doesn't have to be afraid to be around to me, y'know? I'm pretty harmless right now."

Faith watched as Buffy hung her head and drew in a deep breath. When she lifted her head back up, her eyes were filled with tears. She exhaled sharply and took in a couple of deep breaths before she spoke.

"Umm . . . my mom . . . I . . . there was . . . s-she's dead. She died. A couple of weeks ago. Right after I-I came to s-see you."

Faith's eyes got large once again, and she shook her head in disbelief.

"Oh God, B . . . I'm sorry. I didn't know. Shit . . . I'm sorry I brought it up . . . geez, I'm such an asshole." Faith stammered.

"No, Faith, it's not your fault, you didn't know." Buffy sniffled, then continued, looking up to meet Faith's gaze. "You know what? She was really happy that I went to see you. Said that 'it would be good for my soul' to get some closure with you. Guess she held on long enough to see it happen."

The tears that Buffy had in her eyes were now freely falling down her face. She used the back of her hand to wipe them away.

With the arm that was draped over Buffy's shoulders, Faith gave a gentle squeeze to the smaller girl. She wasn't exactly sure if Buffy _wanted_ to be comforted by her, but it was the only gesture she knew of that wasn't over the top.

She closed her eyes and waited for the backlash from Buffy. However, she was surprised to find that Buffy didn't resist. In fact, she had actually nestled herself into Faith's embrace just for a moment, until she heard a cough from behind her.

"Am I interrupting something?" Angel asked with a sly grin on his face.

Buffy quickly sat Faith down on the couch and stood up, straightening out her clothes.

"Nope. Faith was just trying to be consoling. I . . . I told her about m-my mother." Buffy stated, looking very emotional once again.

Angel put Faith's bags on the floor near the stairs and walked over to Buffy, pulling her into a tight embrace. She closed her eyes and relaxed against him as he stroked her hair and placed a chaste kiss on top of her head.

Faith watched from the couch, and a hint of jealousy swept over her. _'Damn, that's what I shoulda done. Just scoop her up and hold her. Of course, I probably woulda collapsed under our combined weight. Okay, so maybe my smaller gesture wasn't as bad an idea as I thought. Keep it simple, right? Besides . . . Angel has first dibs.'_

Cordelia and Wes walked in at that moment, and Cordelia made a gagging sound as she saw Buffy and Angel in their embrace.

"Ugh! Haven't you two learned your lesson yet? Hugs lead to kisses. Kisses lead to groping. Groping leads to groiny-ness. Then, we have us a real problem: one sick slayer, one heart-sick slayer, and one soulless vamp with a taste for death and a fetish for torture. I don't know about you guys, but I think we need to stop this before a whole vicious cycle starts up."

She pointed at Angel, who just glared at her. "You! Couch! Now!" The she pointed at Buffy. "You! Anywhere but the couch!"

Buffy and Angel dejectedly separated. Angel walked to the couch and sat down, mumbling under his un-needed breath as he did so, ". . . don't know who made you the boss of me . . . I'm over two centuries old . . . always treat me like a little kid . . . you're not the boss of me."

Buffy also walked towards the couch, but sat on the arm rest next to Faith rather than in the empty space next to Angel. She crossed her arms across her chest and put on her pout-y face. She glanced up at Cordelia through her eyelashes and noticed that she was getting an annoyed look from the other girl.

"What?" Buffy asked, sounding both innocent and annoyed at the same time. "It's my house! Besides, I'm not sitting next to him. Oh! . . . and I have _no_ intentions of getting 'groin-y' with him, so just chill out, Cordy." Then under her breath, she added, "You're not the boss of me" in a little, girly tone.

Faith couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. _'Cordy's back in town for 10 minutes and she's already taking charge. Damn, I like this girl!'_

* * *

_  
_

Slowly but surely, the Scoobies began to enter the room from the kitchen. They were apprehensive at first, but Faith's appearance and demeanor slowly melted away their fears. They finally let their guard down, at least temporarily.

Dawn smiled as soon as she saw Faith. She ran over and knelt in front of her, wrapping her arms around Faith's legs and giving them a tight hug.

"Faith! It's been soooooo long. My god, how much weight did you lose? Oh! You'll be able to share clothes with me now!" Dawn giggled.

"Hey, 'Crack-of-Dawn,' it's good to see you too, kiddo. I just might take you up on that clothes offer, as long as you've got some leathers to share." Faith responded while mussing up Dawn's hair.

From across the room, Xander and Willow watched in awe. Not only had they never seen Faith act 'lovingly' like she was now, but they had also never seen her in a physical state like her current one.

"Oh my goddess." Willow exclaimed, quiet enough so that only Xander heard her.

"I'll see your 'oh my goddess,' and raise you a 'holy shit'." Xander replied, just as quiet.

Anya, on the other hand, was extremely intrigued by the dark slayer in front of her. Instead of standing back and acting shocked, she walked right up to Faith and grabbed her hand, shaking it firmly.

"Hello. I'm Anya. I don't believe we were ever properly introduced. Xander is mine, so please refrain from seducing him or having sexual relations with him." She paused and studied Faith for a moment, then continued. "Though . . . from looking at you now, I understand why he would want to have sex with you. You're strangely sexy and exotic, even though you _are_ a little pasty. Oh, and those lips! Rrrrrrrooow."

Anya made a little growling noise and winked at Faith, who gave her a questioning smile in return, making sure to run her tongue over her bottom lip as she did so.

Anya continued, "Anyways, I hope that your recovery is quick and easy. Maybe when you're back to your dark and sexy self, you, Xander, and I can enjoy a session or two of consensual pleasure. I'm very limber."

An air of discomfort swept across the room. Xander cringed from across the room, Giles let out one of his patented "Dear Lord's," and Cordelia laughed as if it was the funniest thing she had heard in a long time.

Faith looked a little puzzled at first, but she burst out laughing after a moment or two passed.

"You, I like." Faith said as she glanced at Anya. Then she looked across the room at Xander and finally caught his eyes. "Hey Xan-man, you've got yourself a live one here. She keep you on the edge of your seat?"

"You have _no_ idea" he answered with a friendly a pleading smile.

Next to Xander, she noticed Willow fidgeting while talking to a blonde girl standing next to her.

"Hey, Red. You're lookin' good."

"Thanks." Willow replied with a nervous smile. She didn't take complements too well.

"Last time we ran into each other, you were makin' big with the magic mumbo-jumbo. So, you plannin' on turnin' me into a frog or snail anytime soon?" Faith asked, trying to be playful but not wanting to overstep her boundaries.

"Nope. You'll be happy to know that I have no current plans to turn you into a frog or anything. Besides, I'm sure your animal spirit is a wolf or a fox or something cool like that, 'cuz I mean . . . come on . . . it's _you_. Not that a frog isn't cool to some people. But, with the warts and the slime, and the croaking and hopping, just . . . yuck . . . and . . . I'm babbling again, aren't I?"

Faith just took in a breath and chuckled a little.

"Yep, you kinda are. But y'know what? I missed that, Red. Feel free to keep going if ya want to."

Willow shook her head. "Hmm . . . nope. I'm done now. Besides, I've gotta save all the strength I have for tomorrow. Looks like you and I are going to do a little 'magical mind-walk.' See if we can find out what's going on in your head."

Almost immediately, Faith's smile faded as she looked down nervously at her lap. She couldn't believe that not only were the Scoobies being nice to be, but they were going to help her as well.

Everyone in the room noticed as Faith dropped her head, and they all went silent as they waited for someone to say something. Angel sat on the couth with Faith and Buffy, Dawn on the floor in front of them. Cordelia sat on the stairs, while Wes and Giles hovered nearby the front door. Tara, Willow, Xander, and Anya sat on the chairs across from the couch. They looked at each other awkwardly as Faith collected her thoughts.

She wanted to thank them, but wasn't sure how. She decided to just jump right in.

"Umm, listen guys, I wanna thank you all for bein' so nice to me. I know I don't deserve your friendship, especially with all the shit that went down in the past. Whether I was someone's evil puppet or not, it really doesn't matter, 'cuz I was pretty shitty even before that. I was selfish, and afraid of being alone, so I took advantage of my so-called friendships at every opportunity. Fucked up, right?"

"Faith, you don't have to . . ." Buffy interjected, not wanting Faith to have to go through this in her current state. She placed her hand on Faith's shoulder, but Faith cut right back in.

". . . No Buffy, I do. Please, just let me finish before I chicken out."

Buffy nodded. Oddly, she didn't remove her hand from Faith's shoulder.

"Okay . . . so, where was I again? Did I get to the part about me being a shit-head yet?"

The gang smiled at her question. Anya decided to answer.

"You said you were shitty and selfish, but you didn't get to the shit-head part yet. Please continue." Anya nodded and smiled.

"Yeah . . . thanks, Ahn. Okay, so continuing on . . . I was a shit-head," she looked to Anya who nodded at her, and then continued, "and I want to make it up to all of you. But, I have to fight the good fight first. If I get through this? I'm not gonna go takin' off like I normally would. I'm gonna deal with the things that I shoulda dealt with a long time ago. And if I start slackin', I fully expect each and every one of you to kick my ass back into gear."

"Will do." Buffy and Dawn replied at the same time, a little too much optimism in both of their voices.

Faith laughed, as did a few other people in the room.

"So, good. Then the plan is: We find out what's going on with me, we try to stop it, we win, and then I stick around to deal. That is, if you guys don't give me the boot first."

Xander responded with a smile. "Nahh. I think we can learn to put up with ya. Especially if you share some more of your stories. There are more stories, aren't there?" He asked anxiously.

"Sure, Xan-man. I've got a lot more to add to the collection now. Prison-variety." She winked.

Xander just stared at her with a fascinated, goofy look upon his face. "With the girl-on-girl action, and the chains and the hand-cuffs and other prison-y goodness?"

Faith laughed again. "Kinks or vanilla, your choice."

A small pout appeared on Anya's face, and she interrupted.

"Hey. Xander, I think that you're getting too involved in the sex and girl-on-girl talk, and you're not including me. Now, I have to top her, just to keep your interest! I can be creative. I can be exotic. I can hand-cuff you to the bed and give you orgasms. In fact, I'm gonna do that right now. Come on!" " She stood up, grabbed his hand, and led him to the front door.

As he was being pulled along, Xander blurted out, "Uhh . . . I'll talk to you guys soon! If you don't hear from me by tomorrow afternoon, come looking for me, and bring a locksmith!"

A couple of stray laughs came from the house as the door slammed shut behind the two fleeing Scoobs.

'_God, it feels good to be back.'_

**TBC** (Next chapter is a Part II to this one)


	13. Welcome to Sunndyale Part II

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** A couple people have commented on how nice the Scoobies are acting; that it's not like them. I'm trying to rationalize it this way: Imagine how they used to know Faith (pre-Bad-Girls): radiant, full of charisma and life, a little bit of a live wire, and a real character. Then she went bad, and of course, they hated her or whatever. Now, they're suddenly told that the 'bad-version' of her may not have been the real her. They're hesitant at first. When they finally realize that they're gonna be made to deal with it, they accept it and expect to find the old-Faith that they used to know and like. But, that's not what they find at all. They see a weak and sickly girl who is trying to pass for the old Faith. The Faith they're looking at is a shell of the old Faith that they knew, and it's kind of heartbreaking.

Anyways, I just wanted to explain my reasoning. Hope you guys are enjoying, thanks again for the reviews.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen -- Welcome to Sunnydale (Part II)**

As he was being pulled along, Xander blurted out, "Uhh . . . I'll talk to you guys soon! If you don't hear from me by tomorrow afternoon, come looking for me, and bring a locksmith!"

A couple of stray laughs came from the house as the door slammed shut behind the two fleeing Scoobs.

'_God, it feels good to be back.'_

* * *

As the group settled down from the small disruption, Buffy saw her chance to finally get a handle on things. She stood up from the arm of the couch, thus removing her hand from Faith's shoulder, and walked to the center of the room.

She looked each and every person in the eye to make sure she had their attention before speaking. After assuring herself that all eyes were on her, she finally spoke.

"Okay then. So we have a tentative plan. Just like Faith said: We find out what's going on with Faith, we fight, we win, we deal. It's as easy as that."

Giles, who had been silent through this point, decided to interrupt.

"I assume by you're little 'we' speech that you intend this to be a group endeavor. Have you decided who shall do what, and when?"

"Well," Buffy paused, "I hadn't exactly thought it out too much. I know that Willow's gonna do the mind-walk with Faith tomorrow, and that Tara's gonna be her anchor. They need to save up their energy, so that's all that I'm assigning them for now." She directed her attention to the two witches sitting across the room. "You guys can head up to bed if you want. I'll talk with you in the morning to get things set up."

Both Willow and Tara nodded and stood up, hand-in-hand. They whispered a quick 'goodnight' to Faith and the rest of the gang before heading up the stairs.

Buffy spoke again.

"As for the rest of you, I know you're not gonna like it, but you're all part of the research crew. Hit the books, hit the streets, hit up any contacts that might have information. We don't have to start tonight, because we don't even have a starting point to go from yet. I suggest you guys get some rest, 'cuz once we find out where to start, we're not stopping until we finish this. Thoughts?"

Buffy looked around the room, almost daring someone to go against her.

"Umm, Buffy?" Dawn said quietly. "Where is everyone gonna sleep? I don't think we have enough beds. Or blankets, for that matter."

Suddenly, Buffy looked a little defeated. She hadn't even thought about sleeping arrangements, and here she had a house full of guests.

Angel sensed her discomfort, and immediately spoke up. "Don't worry about Cordy, Wes, and I. We'll stay at the mansion. I've had it kept up over the years. I'll patrol tonight, so you can focus your attention on what's going on here."

The three stood to leave, and Buffy put a hand on Angel's arm to stop him.

"Listen, Angel. I know you're not gonna like it, but I think you should stop at Spike's and get him to help with tonight's patrol."

"You can't be serious." Angel replied, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Yeah, I am. I know he can be a pain in the ass, but he's a good fighter. You'll get the patrol done quicker, and then maybe you can check into some of your old contacts and see if any of them know what's going on with Faith."

Angel grumbled under his breath, but finally gave in. "Fine. We'll be back before first light. Let me know if anything happens between now and then."

"Will do." She replied with a gentle smile.

Before walking out the door, Angel walked back to the couch and bent down in front of Faith.

"You okay?" He asked, his voice full of sincerity.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry 'bout me. I think you're leaving me in some pretty capable hands. I'll deal."

He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead before standing up and leaving with Cordy and Wes.

As they walked outside, Cordelia could be heard whining, "I can't believe you're making me sleep in that crusty old mansion! Come on, you're a vampire, for Christ's sake. Let's go to a hotel and scare them into giving us a room." After hearing nothing in return from Angel, she continued, "Ugh, fine. But if I wake up with any kind of bites or rash, I am SO quitting."

* * *

Back inside, Buffy was trying to tie things up so they could all call it a night.

"Okay, so Giles, you can sleep on the couch. I hope you don't mind, but the bed space is kind of limited."

"No, I don't mind, Buffy. I'll probably be up most of the night anyway, reading through some prophecies and journals. I have far too much to look into to be able to sleep at this point." He turned his vision to Faith. "We're not going to fail you this time." He said before walking out of the room and into the kitchen.

Faith smiled. She still couldn't believe how things were turning out. _'I swear, if I didn't think I'd stumble over, I'd be doin' a little happy-dance right about now.'_

Without a word, Dawn got up off of the floor and headed up the stairs, calling down from the top of the stairs, "There's no way you're giving away my room!" before closing her bedroom door behind her.

Suddenly, the realization hit Faith that she was now alone in the room with Buffy. She visibly tensed up a bit, keeping her head lowered and fidgeting a bit.

"Faith . . . are you okay?" Buffy asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, B. I'm fine. Just a little tired, I guess."

"Well, come on then. We'll go up to bed." Buffy answered very nonchalantly.

Faith looked up at her with a puzzled look on her face. _'You gotta be shittin' me. Is Buffy actually plannin' on letting me stay in her bedroom? Right . . . she'll probably tuck me in and then go crash with Dawnie.'_

Faith stood up and tried to walk to the stairs, but she was having a hard time. Still, she was determined to prove that she wasn't totally incapable.

After a moment or two, she finally reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked up to the top of the stairs, which were starting to resemble Mt. Everest to her, and let out a defeated sigh. Letting her last wall down, she looked over to Buffy, who was watching her with an amused look on her face, and uttered the words that she had never said before.

"Buffy . . . will you help me?"

Smiling, Buffy walked over to her and slid underneath Faith's arm while wrapping her free arm around Faith's waist. As they slowly began ascending the stairs, Buffy finally answered.

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

After a short trip to the bathroom so that Faith could wash up and get ready for bed, the two slayers found their way to Buffy's bedroom. Faith sat down on the chair in front of the make-up mirror while Buffy ran back downstairs to grab her bags.

Faith was definitely feeling awkward. She was tired, and could probably use a good night's rest. However, she was afraid to sleep. Afraid that another dream could really hurt her, if not kill her. To add to that, now she was presumably kicking Buffy out of her own bed.

She made up her mind. When Buffy came back in the room, she was going to tell her that she didn't have to sleep on the floor or in Dawnie's room. She could have her own bed, seeing as that Faith was going to go sit on the back porch and watch the stars 'til the sun comes up.

'_Good plan, Faithy. Now you just have to convince her to go along with it. Good luck!'_

Buffy chose that moment to walk into the room, Faiths bags in tow.

"Hey." Buffy said, then looked at Faith questioningly. "How come you aren't in bed? Did you need my help?"

"Ummm . . . y'know what, B? I'm kinda riled up a bit. I'm thinkin 'bout spending some quality time with your back porch . . . y'know, get some air, watch the stars. Besides, this way you don't have to crash with Dawnie or take the floor."

Buffy gave her a bewildered look, then shook her head and smiled a bit.

"Yeahhhh . . . you didn't really think I was gonna go for that, did you?"

"Nope. Nope, I didn't." Faith answered a little too quickly. "Listen, truth be told? I've kinda got the willies about going to sleep. Never know what's gonna happen. If you don't mind, I'd rather stay awake, at least while I can."

Buffy pondered Faith's request for a moment. She knew that Faith was exhausted. She looked like she was ready to crash any moment. She didn't want to let her out of her sight, so that ruled out any possible of getting any sleep herself. She decided to play along, at least for now.

"Okay, Faith. I can't make you sleep, so you can stay awake if you want. But, for your information, that means I can't sleep either. I'm here to watch over you, and I can't do that if you're off running around while I'm catching a few Z's. Of course . . . I don't see you doing much running or jumping in the near future . . ." she trailed off.

"You're not gonna make me feel guilty, are ya? 'Cuz I think you are." Faith said with a little whine.

Buffy put on her best innocent face. "Nope, I wouldn't do that to you, being all fragile-like and repent-y. Forget about it. Hey, I don't need sleep. I'm sure that being well-rested would just make tomorrow too easy to deal with, and we all know how I love a challenge . . ."

". . . Blah, blah, blah. Geez, you're almost as bad as Angel, trying to guilt me into doing things with the whole 'innocent' routine. Fine, you win, Summers. I'll stay up here, but I'm NOT sleeping." She yawned, but tried to cover it up.

Buffy, knowing that she won, put on a big grin. She walked over to her bed and started pulling down the covers, her lips still curling up into a grin.

Faith just watched on and chuckled to herself. Noticing that Buffy seemed intent on sleeping in the bed, she stood up and grabbed the sleeping bag that Angel had packed with her stuff. She slowly walked to the foot of Buffy's bed and began to lay the bag on the floor so that she would at least be comfortable on the floor for the night.

"Uh, Faith? What are you doing?" Buffy interrupted, noticing what the other girl was doing.

"Oh . . . well, I was just putting this down so my back isn't sore in the morning." Faith indicated the sleeping bag in her hand and continued trying to get it even on the floor.

Buffy calmly walked over, grabbed the sleeping bag, and threw it by Faith's bags.

"Listen, we're both adults here and I have a Queen-size bed. We'll draw an imaginary line down the middle and keep to our respective sides. Can you handle that, Faith?"

Faith fidgeted a bit, nervous at the prospects that lay in front of her.

"B . . . I _know_ we're not okay yet, so . . ."

Buffy interrupted.

". . . No, we're not okay yet. Kinda far from it, I'd say. We have a _lot_ to talk about. _Tons._ But we'll deal with that when this whole 'thing' is over. Until then, I'm gonna do what I can to help you, and that's a promise. Sharing a bed with you? Not at the top of our list of problems right now. Got it?" She held the covers up for Faith, indicating that she should hop in.

Faith simply nodded, and crawled into the bed, perfectly content for the moment.

She watched as Buffy grabbed some clothing from a dresser drawer and left the room, presumably to get dressed for bed. She couldn't help the relaxed feeling that came over her as she laid there in Buffy's bed, all snuggled up and content.

Without even realizing it, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Buffy entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She was definitely feeling tired, and couldn't wait to crash for the night. She was about to ask Faith if she needed anything else when she noticed that the other girl was sleeping.

A small smile crept up on her face. It wasn't because Faith looked kinda cute laying there on her bed all wrapped up like a little cocoon. It was because Buffy knew that she was right when she said that Faith was going to crash any moment, and now she had.

'_I love being right.' _She thought with a smirk on her face.

Buffy turned out the light and was just about to hop into her side of the bed when she heard something.

It was Faith. She had let out a small whimper. As Buffy got closer, she realized that Faith was breathing rather heavily for a person who was supposed to be sleeping. She pulled the covers back from up around Faith's head and noticed that she was covered in a fine coating of sweat.

'_Oh shit! She's dreaming. I've got to wake her up before it's too late.'_

Buffy quickly put her hands on Faith's shoulders and began to shake her gently.

"Faith, come on, wake up. It's time to wake up Faith. Come on, Slayer! Faith!!"

Suddenly Faith's eyes flickered open and she looked to Buffy.

"Shit! I can't believe I fuckin fell asleep! I was only out for a couple of minutes, right?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I just changed and washed up, and came right back. Are you okay?"

Faith knitted her eyebrows together while pondering Buffy's question. She realized that something was different. Her reaction to her dream (which she couldn't even remember, right now) was not as severe as it had been other times. Her breathing was a little rough and she was sweating, but there was no pain. Oh, and no catatonia. _'Bonus.'_

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Thank god you woke me up when you did. This is wicked weird. I don't have the normal pain part of the side effects. Which, y'know . . . not complaining here. It's just weird. Maybe it's got something to do with you, 'cuz you're near me. Maybe the Slayer-connection stops the magic from getting that close to me, 'cuz the Slayer-connection is stronger than anything else, magic or not."

"I don't know Faith. That's what we're going to find out tomorrow. In the meanwhile, do you want to go back to sleep . . . I mean . . . now that I'm here? Like you said, maybe it won't be that bad if I'm here next to you."

Faith thought about it for a minute.

"I don't know, B. It's kinda scary. Big-time scary."

"Well, I'll be right here next to you. If I think something's going on, I'll jump on in and save the day. It's kinda what I do. Birthright and all."

With that, Buffy crawled onto her side of the bed and settled in. She laid on her side so that she was facing Faith. She immediately closed her eyes and relaxed, trying to let sleep take over her.

Faith, on the other hand, had rolled onto her back and lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Her feet started dancing back and forth, part of a nervous habit she picked up years ago. She hadn't even realized that she was doing it until she heard Buffy let out an annoyed sigh.

"Hey, Fred Astaire? Are you planning on keeping up the 'midnight mambo' all night over there, or were you going to try and sleep?" Buffy asked, not opening her eyes.

"Sorry," Faith replied, "nervous habit. Just scared to sleep, I guess."

Buffy sighed. With eyes still closed, she began to speak again.

"What I'm about to do does _not_ signify that things are okay between us. I just want to get some sleep, and I know that you definitely need it too. Understood?"

Faith glanced over at Buffy with an unsure look on her face. "Umm, yeahhhhh, I guess."

"Alright then." Buffy replied. She opened her eyes only long enough to scoot closer to Faith, pull the girl closer to her, push her on her side, and drape an arm over her midsection.

'_Oh. My. God. Is Buffy spooning me? Yep. Buffy-fuckin-Summers is spooning me.'_

"Not a word of this to anyone, Faith. Got it?" Buffy said with her eyes closed yet again.

"Yeah, I got it, B." Faith answered with a small grin on her face.

She relaxed into Buffy's embrace and slowly drifted off to sleep, a content smile playing on her lips.

**TBC**

All feedback and reviews appreciated. :)


	14. Going Through the Motions

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** Thanks again to all of those who have reviewed. As always, feedback is appreciated . . . I like to know what you guys think.

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen -- Going Through the Motions**

Faith awoke to first light of morning. The house was still silent, except for the sound of the front door that had been opened and closed just a moment ago. She couldn't believe that she had got through an entire night without having any of the dreams.

Feeling well-rested, she began to stretch, preparing to get up out of bed. However, she cut her stretch short when she realized that Buffy was still pressed tightly against her.

A big smile appeared on the dark-Slayer's face. She couldn't believe that Buffy had actually shared a bed with her, let alone 'cuddled' up against her just so that they could both get a good night's rest. It all seemed too surreal for her to handle.

She pondered lying there in the bed for awhile, just to listen to the smaller girl breath and to feel the warmth of her body. But, Faith thought that it would be too awkward for Buffy to wake up that way. She didn't want the other girl to have any regrets.

So, carefully as not to wake Buffy up, Faith slid over and stepped off of the bed. She crept around the room to her bags, quietly rummaging through them to get a fresh pair of clothes. When she found some, she opened the bedroom door and headed to the bathroom to shower and get changed.

When she passed the staircase, she looked down to see Angel, Cordy, Giles and Wes sitting in the living room, patiently waiting for the rest of the household to wake up.

Angel glanced up and her and gave her a wink, trying not to alert the others to her presence. She waved at him and indicated that she was headed to shower. She smiled at him before walking off towards the bathroom.

Neither he nor Faith had noticed or paid attention to the fact that she was walking around unaided and without a struggle.

* * *

Faith stood with her eyes closed underneath the hot spray of the shower, enjoying every moment of it. The showers in prison had been a bad experience. When they weren't spurting forth lukewarm water at a rate of just more than a trickle, they were the meeting place of the 'bad' crowd of the prison. She had to defend herself in the showers on more than one occasion, so she had never enjoyed her showering experiences while there.

She had been in the shower for some time now. She was sure that either Willow or Dawn would be banging on the door at any minute, so she reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

After getting dressed and drying her hair, she grabbed the rest of her stuff and headed back to Buffy's bedroom.

When she got there, she was surprised to see Buffy lying awake in her bed. As she walked through the door, Buffy's eyes came up to meet hers.

"Shower." Faith said.

"Yeah, I kind of figured." Buffy responded.

Silence filled the air. Faith stood next to the now closed door, waiting for Buffy to say something. _'Shit . . . maybe I'm supposed to say somethin' here. But what?'_

"So, umm . . . thanks for last night. I was kind of a mess. But I guess that sleep did me some good, so . . . yeah. Thanks."

Buffy just looked at her, a somewhat confused look on her face. Then a realization hit her.

"Hey . . . I see you're back to the walking and jumping and whatnot. I must have some sort of healing powers in my cuddling. OOH! I love it . . . 'the all-healing Slayer-cuddle, --sure to cure your ailment.' I should market that." Buffy joked.

"Yeah, well, you should." Faith responded. "I don't know what you did, but whatever it was, it worked. A nightmare-free night, and a pert and semi-lively 'me' in the mornin. I could definitely get used to somethin' like that."

Faith's eyes got big as she realized what she had just said. _'Oh geez. I just basically told B that I could get used to cuddling with her. Maybe she didn't pick up on it.'_

Faith looked to Buffy, who had a slight blush on her face.

'_Yep, definitely picked up on it.'_ She decided to change the subject.

"So, you gonna get up and get anytime soon, blondie? Angel is here with Queen C and Wes, and Giles is up too. Guess they're all pretty eager to get on with this thing."

"Yeah, I'm getting up now. I was just waiting for you to come back is all."

Buffy sat up and got out of bed. She was considering taking a shower when she heard the water running.

"Crap. Willow or Tara must be in the shower. Guess I'll have to wait 'til later. I'll just get changed so we can go downstairs."

She walked over to her closet and opened the door, stepping behind it as she began to undress.

Faith couldn't help but catch a glance out of the corner of her eye. She saw that Buffy had stripped down to her underwear and t-shirt, and that she was reaching up in her closet to grab something on the top shelf.

Then, Faith saw something that definitely caught her eye. As Buffy was reaching, her t-shirt had lifted up a little, revealing the upper hem of her underwear (which had slipped down a little, revealing just the tiniest bit of top of her butt). Peeking just above the top of the hem of her underwear was the trace of a tattoo.

Faith gasped as she recalled the circumstances behind the tattoo.

You see, it was her little 'gift' to Buffy during the whole 'body-swap' incident. Knowing that there was a chance that Buffy may get her body back, Faith wanted to make sure that the other girl had a permanent reminder of the incident. Just before she was about to head to the airport, she stopped at a local tattoo parlor. She picked out a semi-large heart with a stake going through it. The real kicker was that she had _'Faith'_ written smack-dab in the middle of the heart. This way, she would always be a part of Buffy, whether the other girl liked it or not.

She couldn't believe that she had almost forgotten about it. But she didn't have much time to think about it, as Buffy had heard her gasp and turned to look at her.

"Admiring your handiwork, Faith?" Buffy said, trying to sound angry but not able to keep the smile she was trying to hide off of her face.

"Yeah, B . . . about that . . ." Faith trailed off.

"_About that_ . . ." Buffy mocked. "Can you imagine having to explain it to my mother and friends? And Riley? It was definitely not fun, but a good joke on your part. I guess you got the last laugh in that little bit. Touché." Buffy responded while trying to get a glimpse of the tattoo in the mirror on her closet door.

Faith laughed softly.

"Well, B . . . I guess that since you were always tellin' me that I was such a pain in your ass, I would make it a little more literal."

Buffy and Faith laughed as they finished getting ready.

When they finally stepped out of the bedroom, they discovered that Tara had showered, and that Willow was just about to hop in. She told them that she would be down in about an hour.

Having a little bit of time to spare, Faith decided that she wanted to go do some tai-chi in the basement, wanting to take advantage of her newly regained strength while she was able to.

"Hey, B, I hope you don't think I'm skippin' out on the little party downstairs, but I think I'm gonna head to the basement to do some tai-chi. D'ya mind?"

Buffy considered the other girls question, and finally replied, "Nope, I don't . . . as long as you don't mind if I join you. I could definitely use a little more balance and peace today."

Faith gave Buffy a warm smile. "Of course I don't mind. But . . . I do things a little unconventionally. Think you'll be able to deal?"

"Lead the way." Buffy responded with a smile.

* * *

Before the girls headed to the basement, Faith ran back into Buffy's room and grabbed one of her bags. She met Buffy back in the hallway and the two girls made their way to the basement, saying polite 'good mornings' as they passed people throughout the house.

When they finally reached the basement, Faith knelt down beside her bag and pulled out a small CD-Player and some CD's.

Buffy looked on doubtfully.

"So, is this what you mean by unconventional? Playing the 'healing' music? Faith, I've done that before, too. Hello, that stuff plays the whole time on my 'Tai-Chi for Dummies' DVD. I can handle it. In fact, I prefer it over the silence." Buffy stated very matter-of-factly.

Faith gave her a sly grin.

"I don't think this is the kinda music you're used to, B." Faith stated as she handed the other girl a CD case.

Buffy looked at it and a funny look came over her face.

"Hmm . . . Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, Nirvana . . . Faith, I really don't think you can do Tai-Chi to these. They're far too fast and hard, and just . . . noisy." Buffy said as she screwed up her face while handing the case back to her.

"You just have to go with me on this one, B. Trust me, you'll like it."

Buffy gave her a look, and then just shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine, whatever you say. Please, continue."

Faith put the CD in and pressed play. The girls had just enough time to get into position before the first song started. It was "The Fragile" by Nine Inch Nails.

Faith closed her eyes as the music started and began to take in several deep breaths. She had a look of total concentration on her face.

Buffy looked on questioningly, but decided to just give in. She closed her eyes and began to steady her breathing as well, relaxing to the surprisingly mellow sound of the song playing. She had expected something much more loud and hard. It wasn't exactly her type of music, but she could deal with it.

As the beat of the music began to pick up, both girls began their Tai-chi exercises. They still had their eyes closed, but they had somehow managed to start at the same moment and remain perfectly in sync with one another. Their movements were slow and fluid in nature, and even their breathing patterns matched one another's.

They had continued through their routing for at least 30 minutes without any disruptions. The rest of the gang had gathered upstairs and began going over the game plan. When they noticed that neither Buffy nor Faith had resurface from the basement, they had asked Tara to go and get the two slayers.

Slowly, Tara made her way to the basement and quietly crept down the first few stairs. What she saw before nearly took her breath away. She looked on as Buffy and Faith worked through their Tai-chi movements, moving in perfect synchronicity. She actually had to sit down at the top of the steps to catch her breath. Still, she ducked her head down so that she could continue watching.

Hoping to remain unnoticed, she watched as their auras emanated around them into the surrounding air. She couldn't tell whose was whose, because they matched perfectly. The mellow-blue color shimmered around the two slayers, growing more and more intense as the minutes passed.

Of course, your average person wouldn't have been able to see the blue shimmer around the two girls. But Tara, being a witch, could see it and feel it as if it were corporeal. She cold feel the sense of tranquility and harmony emitting from the two girls, and she was taken back by the beauty of it all. Fortunately for her, the two slayers had been so completely engulfed in their movements that they hadn't detected her presence yet.

She knew that the gang upstairs was probably beginning to grow impatient now, but she didn't want to interrupt the sight in front of her.

When she heard Dawn complaining and offer to barge in on the little 'slayer-fest,' as she called it, Tara finally decided to interrupt the girls. She stood up and coughed a little, announcing her presence as she walked to the bottom of the stairs.

Both girls instantly turned their heads towards the direction of the disturbance. They smiled as they saw a timid-looking Tara standing there.

"I'm s-sorry to disturb y-you guys, but the whole gang is upstairs w-waiting to get started."

Faith bent down to turn off the radio, then turned to Tara and flashed her a winning smile.

"Nahh, it's no problem TT. Just wanted to make sure I was good and ready for today. Guess my battery recharged a little last night, 'cuz I woke up this mornin' feelin' better than I have in a hella-long time."

Tara smiled. "I can definitely t-tell. Last night, your aura was really murky and dark with lots of pent-up t-tension and fear. Now, it's really l-light and calm. The Tai-chi r-really must have helped."

Faith nodded. "Yeah, that and Buffy. I think our Slayer-connection may be playin' a small role in my unexpected but highly-anticipated recuperation."

"I definitely agree." Tara stated. "Whey you guys w-were doing your movements, you were perfectly in sync, even though your eyes were closed. Even your auras were perfectly matched. Must be a pretty strong connection. It w-was really beautiful."

Faith smiled, blushing a little. C'mon TT, you gotta stop with the 'beautiful' talk. Look!" She pointed at her blushing face. "You're makin' me blush. Bad-asses aren't supposed to blush." She joked.

Tara laughed at Faith's comment.

"Well, I'm going to head b-back upstairs and see if Will needs anything else before she does the spell with you. I'll see y-you guys in a few?"

"Count on it." Buffy stated with her business face on.

* * *

The two slayers watched as Tara walked up the stairs and closed the door behind her. Buffy walked over to a table and picked up the bottled water that she had placed there earlier. She took a long drink, then looked to Faith who was busy getting her stuff together.

"That was amazing." She stated, looking to Faith for some sort of response.

"Yeah, it was" was all that Faith responded.

"And the music? Not so bad. Think I could get used to it." Buffy fished a little.

"Yeah, I like it too." Faith replied without looking up.

Buffy could tell that the other girl had something on her mind. She had her eyebrows knitted together, and she was chewing on her bottom lip.

"Okay, there's obviously something on your mind. Spill." Buffy ordered as she put on her resolve face.

Faith looked up at her and pondered whether or not to even bring up what she was thinking about. When Buffy raised her eyebrows expectantly and pointed at her resolve face, Faith finally gave in.

"It . . . it's kinda stupid, but I've kinda been thinkin' 'bout it for awhile."

"So? Just tell me Faith. I think we're past the whole 'me getting mad' point." Buffy added. To make it a little easier for the other girl, she put and understanding smile on her face.

Faith thought about it for a moment, choosing her words carefully. She threw caution to the wind and decided to just jump right in.

"Okay. Well, umm, when I was in prison, Drake said that he felt 'energies' around me, that's how he found out that there was something dark around me. But, he said that he also felt a non-threatening energy. Umm . . . he said it was you, tryin' to feel me with the slayer-connection. So, I was kinda wonderin' . . . y'know. Why?"

She immediately lowered her head, trying to avoid Buffy's gaze.

Buffy remained quiet for a minute, kind of shocked by the revelation. She never thought that anyone would find out about that. _'Guess there's no sense in trying to hide it now.'_

"Yeah, that was me. At first, I was doing it because I wanted to make sure that you were still I jail. You know, safety precautions.

Faith nodded as if she understood. _'A-ha! That's exactly what I thought.'_

"But then, "Buffy continued, "I kept doing it, even after I was sure that you were staying put. I really don't know how to explain it, but I'll try."

Faith looked at her and gave a small nod, encouraging her. Buffy smiled nervously and continued.

"So, you and I: the two Slayers. Two. There's only supposed to be one. I guess that makes us an anomaly. Anyways, there's only one person in the entire world who is like me, and who can understand my life. That person is you. Like it or not, we have a bond that no one else can come close to comprehending. I guess that I just kind of missed that bond. I missed feeling . . . well, you . . . in the strictly non-physical sense, of course." She quickly covered.

Faith, who sat patiently and listened to the other girl talk, tried to hide her amazement at hearing the words coming out of Buffy. In a roundabout way, Buffy was saying that she missed her. That she missed _feeling_ her.

Faith smirked and interrupted the other girl.

"Well B, you don't have to worry about missing feelin' me anymore, 'cuz I'm here now. And, if you're a nice girl . . . I'll let you do all the feelin' that you want." She winked at the blonde girl who blushed a little.

Buffy tried to continue as if Faith hadn't said anything, shooting her an annoyed glare before she spoke again.

"So, I reached out to you in the only way that I knew how. I wasn't about to come and visit, mostly because I was still really angry at you. But, I think we're past all that right now, right?"

Faith nodded, turning her smirk into an agreeing smile.

"Yeah, I think we are, B. At least I hope so. We'll find out today what's been going on in my noggin, then we'll go from there. I can't wait to figure out what the hell is goin' on with me. But, before we do that . . ." she paused dramatically, ". . . can we get back to the feelin' part?" She gave Buffy a naughty smile.

"Ughh. Faith, you're incorrigible. Let's go."

She grabbed Faith by the elbow and pulled her up the stairs, giggling at the pout-y face that she received from the supposed bad-ass slayer dragging her feet behind her.

**TBC**


	15. Inside Faith's Mind

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** This is a long chapter . . . I was going to break it in two, but I thought it had a better effect doing it all at once. So, enjoy. All feedback and reviews appreciated.

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen -- Inside Faith's Mind**

When the two girls walked into the kitchen, they saw then entire gang gathered around. They received a few 'good mornings' and 'hellos' as they walked through, making their way to the island-countertop where Willow had several books and other supplies scattered around.

Buffy looked around and noticed Spike casually leaning against a doorway, trying to remain unseen in the background. She walked over to him with a confused look on her face.

"Spike? What are you doing here?" Her voice wasn't angry or sharp . . . she was just genuinely surprised to see him there.

"Peaches mentioned that the other bird, Faith? . . . is having some problems, that things might get a bit ugly. Figured you could use all the help you can muster. So, 'ere I am. No questions, 'kay?"

Buffy gave him a small yet appreciative smile before turning back towards the others.

In the meanwhile, Cordelia had given Faith a funny look and pulled her aside by the elbow to have a 'chat' with her.

"Geez . . . what is it with people and the whole 'draggin'-me-'round-by-my-elbow' thing? It's gettin' a little tired." Faith said, a little annoyed.

Cordelia just ignored her comment.

"Well, well, well . . . look who's up with the walking and the hopping and whatnot. Yesterday you were Miss Rubberlegs, and today you defy gravity and the expectations of everyone here. What gives? What kind of drugs did they give you?" She asked playfully.

A smirk appeared on Faith's face. "Thanks for the keen observiness. But, for your info? No drugs. Just a nice little dose of Vitamin _'B'_." She said with a hint of bravado.

Cordelia's jaw just about dropped to the floor when she realized the double entendre before here.

"GET OUT! Are you implying that little Miss-Tightly-Wound was makin' with the sexual healing?" she asked in disbelief.

Faith burst out in a hoarse laugh, clutching her knees as she bent over in laughter.

"Nahh, nothin' like that. Trust me . . . after more than a year in jail, I'm definitely itchin' to get my naughty on, but not like this. I was afraid to sleep last night 'cuz I dozed off for a few minutes and started to have a nightmare. But B swooped in and woke me up before it got bad, thus saving the day. The aftereffects weren't killer like usual, and we thought it must've been 'cuz of the Slayer-connection. So, when I told her I didn't wanna go to sleep again, she fuckin' spooned me, and we both fell asleep. Let me tell ya . . . I haven't slept that good my whole life."

Cordelia put on a big smile. "Now THAT is just too frickin' cute. Tell me Faithy . . . are you guys gonna get monogrammed towels and matching bath robes next?" She winked.

Faith just gave her a slight menacing glare before pulling her back to join the gang.

When they re-entered the kitchen, the rest of the gang were at full attention as Willow was speaking.

"So, I'm gonna need all of you to form a circle around Faith, Tara, and me. Tara's going to be my anchor. She'll be able to pull me out if the dark magic is too strong. If she can't do it alone, she's going to have to draw on the energy from the circle, which is where all of you come in to play. Just keep an eye out for anything out of the norm. If I can't get out . . . well, Faith and I will have a whole new set of problems to deal with."

The entire group looked pretty nervous, including Buffy who decided to voice her opinion.

"Listen, I have an idea, but I don't think you guys are gonna like it. I think that I should be inside the circle with Faith too."

Willow interrupted. "Buffy, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Will, just listen. Faith started having a nightmare last night, but I woke her up in time. Point is this: she was OK when I got to her . . . no sweats, no pain. And she was fine for the rest of the night when I was by her side. I think the Slayer-connection is so strong that the dark magics can't get through it."

Giles and Willow shot each other nervous glances.

"Buffy, you do realize that this could be extremely dangerous. Are you quite sure that it's a good idea to have both you and faith susceptible to this type of threat simultaneously?" Giles asked, full of concern.

He finally had both of his slayers back. It was hard for him to think of losing Faith again, but it was almost too much for him to think of losing both of them at once.

Buffy glanced over at Faith, and then looked back to Giles.

"Giles, I appreciate your concern, really. But you have to realize something: we're Slayers. We put our lives on the line every time we walk out the door, and we are always susceptible to some type of threat. I'm trying to make sure that none of you have to put your lives on the line this time because it's not _your_ job. It's _mine_."

Giles realized that Buffy was trying to look out for the best interests of everyone involved. He also realized that she had made up her mind already, and that it was useless to oppose any further.

Reluctantly, he nodded in assent, though he still didn't like the idea of both of his slayers going under the proverbial knife.

Feeling that everyone knew their parts, Willow began gathering the articles scattered around the counter, indicating that it was time to get things started.

"Well, it looks like it's time to get this freak-show on the road." Faith stated as she grabbed a couple of the items out of Willow's hands, making her way towards the living room.

"Let's do this." Buffy stated, making eye contact with each and every person in the room before following Faith into the living room.

* * *

The rest of the gang slowly followed into the living room. When they entered, they noticed that Buffy and Faith had moved all of the furniture to the outskirts of the room, leaving a large empty space in the center of the room.

Willow got to work as well, grabbing a glass bowl and placing an assortment of various herbs and powders in it. Tara had lit a few incense sticks and walked around the room, letting the scented smoke fill the atmosphere.

When Willow had finished with the contents of the glass bowl, she placed it on the floor and picked up a different container filled with white-colored sand. She carefully poured the sand into a semi-large circle, big enough to enclose herself, Tara, Faith and Buffy within it.

Finally, she grabbed a couple of crystals out of a velvet satchel she had brought in with her and placed them at five points within the circle, signifying earth, air, fire, water, and spirit.

As she finished, she looked up to meet the anxious eyes of everyone in the gang. It was almost time and she needed to give the final instructions.

"Okay, so we have everything set up now. Myself, Tara, Faith and Buffy will be within the inner circle. The sand is there for a purpose, as you'll see in a few minutes. No matter what happens, once I start the ritual, NO ONE can cross the inner circle. It won't be able to stand the excess energy, and then we'll all be put at risk. Are we clear on that?"

The entire gang nodded their heads affirmatively.

By this point, Faith had become extremely nervous. All of the energy that she had felt that morning seemed to be completely drained from her. As she stood, her legs started to tremble beneath her. She felt as if she were about to tumble over when she felt a small hand slip into her own.

Buffy had noticed the nervous expression on Faith's face and saw her start to tremble. To assure and comfort the uneasy girl in front of her, she quickly slipped her hand into the other girls' and gave her a quick smile before turning her attention to Willow.

Faith's legs stopped trembling as she realized that Buffy was going to be there for her. _All_ of these people in front of her were there to help. It seemed almost unfathomable to her, being a part of a group of people this large who actually cared enough about her to help. She had never felt anything like this before.

She shook her head slightly and turned her head back to the red-head in front of her.

"There's one more thing that I think I should bring up. It involves Angel and Spike."

The group collectively turned their heads towards the two vampires who were standing near the staircase, staying as far away from the windows as possible.

Willow continued.

"As much as we all appreciate the help you are willing to give, I think that you both need to keep back from this." She received annoyed looks from the two men, and tried to explain herself. "Let me explain. Angel . . . as we've all seen in the past, your soul seems to be a temperamental thing; it's not tied as tight as all of ours. I don't know exactly what's going to happen during this ritual. The last thing we need is for the dark magic to get to you and take your soul. It's too risky right now."

Angel took in what Willow had said, and couldn't argue with her entirely valid point. He nodded his head and then stepped back, indicating his assent.

Willow then turned to Spike.

"And Spike . . . I know you mean the best and all, but we have to face the facts: you don't have a soul. You are still 'evil,' though you may not seem that way to us. I know you want to help us, and we really appreciate that, but this dark magic may try to harness you and use you as a tool for its own purpose. Once again, it just seems too risky at this point."

Spike nodded, also understanding Willow's point.

"Yeh, I get it, luv. No need to worry. But I'm not going anywhere just yet . . . you may need me down the road, and I want to be 'ere when that time comes. 'lright?"

"Thank you, Spike." Buffy said from across the room.

He nodded at her, then joined Angel in the dining room area, anxiously watching what was happening in the next room.

"Okay then," Willow began, "I think we're ready to start."

She walked into the circle of sand and was immediately joined by Tara, then by Buffy and Faith who were still holding hands. Buffy gave Faith's hand a quick squeeze before letting go so that they could move to their respective spaces.

Meanwhile, Cordelia, Wes, Dawn, Giles, Xander, and Anya had formed themselves into a large circle around the sand-circle. They didn't link hands, but they were close enough to do so if the need to became an issue. They anxiously sat and watched on.

When Willow saw that everyone and everything was situated, she turned one last time to look at the group.

"Okay, here goes nothing."

She lowered her head and closed eyes, then mumbled an incantation slowly and quietly. As soon as she stopped speaking, the white sand around them turned into a brilliant orange color. To the four girls inside the circle, it looked almost as if nothing had happened around them. The only effect they had noticed was that they couldn't hear anything outside of the circle.

However the rest of the gang saw something completely different. After the sand began to glow orange, a large flash of light emitted from it. Suddenly, it seemed as if the sand was on fire. There were no flames, but it distorted the atmosphere around it into a blurry, wavy view, almost as if trying to look through a campfire. Inside the circle, they could make out the figures of their friends, but they couldn't tell exactly what was going on.

Xander called out to Willow, trying to make sure that they were all okay. However, he got no response.

"Does anyone else find that just a little bit weird?" he asked as he addressed his peers.

"Shh. Quiet now, Xander. We don't want to interrupt the ritual." Giles whispered, not taking his eyes off of the sight in front of him.

Back inside the circle, Willow grasped Faith's hand. She closed her eyes and mumbled another incantation. In a flash, they had both gasped and fallen back seemingly unconscious, Willow into Tara's lap and Faith into Buffy's lap.

Both Tara and Buffy gave each other a nervous look as the girls lying in their laps began to tremble a bit.

Tara closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to feel any indication from Willow that she needed help.

Feeling no sense of harm, she kept her eyes closed and continued waiting, unconsciously stroking Willow's hair all the while.

* * *

Willow opened her eyes to find that she wasn't inside the Summers' living room anymore. She glanced around and found herself in a dark alleyway, undoubtedly somewhere in Sunnydale. She glanced up when she heard a sound.

"Welcome to my mind. 'Please keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times, sit back, and enjoy the ride'." Faith said in her best 'ride operator' voice, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Faith? Umm . . . where are we? Is this one of your memories?" Willow asked as she got up off of the damp ground.

"Kinda looks that way, doesn't it?"

"So, where is this? What am I looking at?" Willow asked, trying to figure out the significance of the location they were in.

Faith paused for a moment, looking kind of nervous.

"This is the night it all changed. If you direct your attention that way," she pointed towards the entrance of the alley, "I think we'll be startin' the show any minute now."

No sooner than Faith had said the words did two people come running down the alley.

Willow's eyes widened a bit when she realized it was Faith and Buffy. She looked on as a vamp jumped out from behind a pile of trash. Buffy grabbed the vamp and tossed him to Faith, who staked him on contact. They began running forward again, only to have another vamp jump out.

"Oh . . . this is the night when . . ." Willow trailed off, realizing that she was watching a replay of the night Faith killed Allen Finch.

"Shh, don't wanna miss the show." Faith pointed out.

Willow watched as memory-Faith grabbed the vamp and tossed him to Buffy, who dusted him just like Faith had the previous vamp. Willow couldn't help but notice how in-step the two Slayers were with each other, how fluid their motions were and how well they anticipated one another.

As the two girls ran on, Willow watched as another figure jumped out of the darkness. She watched as Faith immediately went in for the kill, much like she had with the other vamp. Only when it was too late did she hear Buffy yell, _"Faith, no!"_, as Faith's stake descended into the figures' chest.

Willow watched in horror as memory-Faith looked at her blood-covered hands in shock, trying to figure out what had happened

Then, she looked up to the real Faith who had her eyes closed and was shaking.

"Faith . . . it was an accident. I can see that. It could've happened to anyone, it could've been Buffy." Willow softly reasoned.

Faith's eyes remained clamped shut.

"Yeah . . . but it still fuckin' hurts to see it. Every fuckin' time I close my eyes. It won't stop hauntin' me." Faith said through clenched teeth, fighting back her emotion.

Willow turned her attention from Faith back to the scene in front of her when she realized that they were somewhere totally different now.

She looked around, trying to place herself.

"Uh, Faith? Where are we now?" Willow asked, confused.

Faith unclenched her eyes only long enough take in her surroundings.

"We're in my motel room. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't know where we are, seeing as that ya never were actually here to visit or nothin'." Faith said, not able to help the small amount of bitterness that escaped with her words.

Willow had no response, she simply looked down at her feet. She kept here eyes glued down until she heard the door open. She saw memory-Buffy and Faith walk into the room.

She watched as Buffy offered to help, and as faith tried to push her away. That caught her as odd.

She looked over to the real Faith, who still had her eyes clenched shut.

"Faith, why wouldn't you accept Buffy's help? She was trying to be there for you, and you pushed her away. Why?" Willow asked, almost pleading.

"Because I know I was in some deep shit. I woulda loved to let buffy help me, but I didn't wanna pull her into my mess. I had nothin' to lose, and she had everything . . . family, friends, school, a perfect fuckin' life. I didn't want to poison her life like I had my own. So, I pushed her away. Seemed easier that way."

Willow just shook her head. She watched as memory-Buffy pulled Faith into a hug, placing a kiss on her head while trying to comfort her. It struck Willow as kind of strange, Buffy showing affection to Faith like that and all. Still, she watched on as Faith pushed Buffy away one last time, and as memory-Faith fell to her knees sobbing as the other girl left.

Willow blinked her eyes and found that she was in another place again.

"Oh my goddess . . . this is the Mayor's Office. Faith . . . why did you come here? Were you that anxious to turn on us that quickly?" Willow asked, trying not to show her anger.

Faith opened her eyes to see the all-too-familiar office in front of her. She began pacing, trying to distract herself from the scene that was about to play out.

"It wasn't like that, Red. I came here to turn myself in, 'cuz it was closer than the Police Station, and I wanted to get it over with as quick as I could."

Both girls turned their heads when they heard familiar voices . . . those of memory-Faith and the Mayor.

They listened as the Mayor told Faith that he had set her up with Finch, how he had other plans for her, and how he knew she'd turn to him.

A particular bit of the conversation that really caught Willow's attention was when memory-Faith had mumbled, "_I'm tired of not being wanted."_

Willow moved her eyes over to the real Faith, who had stopped pacing and cringed as she heard herself say the words. She knew that Faith had felt lonely back in the day . . . the Scoobies never really had included her all that much, being as young and ignorant as they were. But she never knew that Faith felt unwanted . . . so much so that she would run to the open arms of the first person who came along.

When she heard memory-Faith agree to the job, with the condition that Buffy and her friends were not to be harmed, she came upon a realization. _'Faith didn't switch sides to harm us; she did it to protect us . . . from herself.'_

She watched as the Mayor held out his hand for Faith to shake, and how she reciprocated the gesture. Then, she watched as memory-Faith's eyes turned black, her body turned rigid, and she shrieked out in pain.

The shriek was enough to stop the real Faith from pacing and to bring her attention to the scene in front of her.

Willow looked on with a disturbed look on her face.

"Faith . . . what's happening? I don't . . ."

"Fucked if I know." Faith interrupted as she walked over to Willow, getting closer to the scene. "This is all new to me."

"Shh . . . what's he saying?" Willow asked, straining her ears to listen to his slow mumble.

'_Animus mei Animus vestri  
__Infusco lacuna Infectum voluntas  
__Mei postulatio fieri.  
__Amicitia fidelis adiuvo  
__Tantum amor curo. . . . . ._

_Oh, don't worry, I won't hurt your friends. You will.'_

"Red, what's that mean? What'd he do to me? How come I never fuckin saw that part before?" Faith spit out, in disbelief of what she had just saw happen.

"I don't know Faith . . . I think it's time we get back to our plane so we can figure this out."

Willow closed her eyes and uttered a few words, trying to break her and Faith out of the ritual. She opened her eyes, expecting to be back in Buffy's living room, but instead she found that she was in another alleyway with Faith.

"Red? What's going on? I thought you said we were goin' back?" Faith asked as she looked around, recognizing the alley she was in.

"Yeah, well, I thought so too. Let me try again."

She closed her eyes and uttered the same words, but to no avail. She looked up to the sky and concentrated . . . "Tara . . . get us out of here. Please."

"Wait." Faith said, looking around. "I know this place. We aren't finished yet. We can't go back 'til we see how this ends."

"I don't get it. What do you mean 'how it ends'?" Willow asked.

Faith shuttered as she looked around.

"This is the night that Angel saved me. I was either going to A.) kill him, or B.) let him kill me. He didn't like either option, so he chose C.) save me." Faith uttered as she looked at Willow with pain on her face.

The girls were shook out of their conversation when the heard the sound of breaking glass, followed by a loud thud.

They watched as Faith began to attack Angel, and as he tried to calm her.

"_I already told you Angel . . . I'm poison. There is NOTHING good about me! I'm dirty. No one can help me."_

"_I can help you Faith. I've been almost exactly where you are now. I can help you. We need you. We . . . I care about you, Faith._

_She struggled a little, but then fell against Angel, sobbing._

_Angel wrapped his arms around the shaking girl in a protective embrace. "Shhh, it's okay, Faith. I'm here. I care. I'm going to help you. I care, Faith. I won't let anyone hurt you." Angel repeated over and over._

A small smile appeared on real Faith's face as she watched Angel comfort the fragile girl n his arms. "He really _did_ care, Red. Maybe the first person to ever care about me. Anyways, I think we can high-tail it outta here now."

Willow gave Faith a sympathetic look before closing her eyes and trying the incantation again.

"Nope. Nothing. I think we need Tara to pull us out." Willow stated after her incantation failed yet again. She looked back to the scene in front of her after something caught her attention. "Hey . . . what's going on over there?" She pointed at the people in the memory scene.

Faith followed Willow's hand. She watched as memory-Faith's eyes turned black again, and then shone a bright white color before she went limp in Angel's arms.

"Beats the shit outta me." Faith said as she watched with great interest. "Looks like Angel didnt notice it either, 'cuz he's just carryin' me away like nothin' happened."

"Yeah, I guess not." Willow stated as she watched the memory fade. "Boy, I can't wait to get back and tell everyone about this. We'll hit the books and find out what's going on in no time. You should be in ship-shape before long, right Faith?"

Willow waited for an answer from the girl who was standing behind her.

"Right, Faith?" she asked again, turning around slowly to face the other girl.

When she fully turned, she saw Faith lying on the ground in a fetal position, her eyes clenched shut as she grabbed on to her head.

"Faith!" Willow screamed as she rushed over to the huddled mass and knelt down next to her. "Faith, what's wrong? Come on! Talk to me here!"

Faith couldn't respond. The pain in her head was so hard and loud that it blocked out everything around her.

Willow gasped as she saw blood start to trickle out of Faith's nose and clenched eyes.

"Oh, god. No!"

Before she could try the incantation again or call out to Tara, a large gust filled the alley that forced her to close her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the Summers' living room. She quickly rolled on her side to see Faith lying in Buffy's arms, curled up in a fetal position, bleeding from her nose and still-clenched eyes.

**TBC**

Oooooh . . .yep, I left it there. Dum Dum DUMMMM! Gotta love a cliffhanger. Feed the feedback monster.


	16. Waking Up in Shambles

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** rogue-vulcan – thanks for pointing out the Willow/frog error in chapter 12, I TOTALLY forgot about her frog phobia. I went back and changed it around a little, just to keep some continuity. Thanks to everyone else who has reviewed . . . it really helps me when I write my future chapters. Anyways, enjoy, this is another long chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen -- Waking Up in Shambles**

"Oh god, no!" Willow yelled as she sat and looked at Faith, then at Buffy who was crying while holding the broken girl in her arms.

"Willow, what happened?" Buffy said through clenched teeth, tears streaming down her face.

"I . . . oh god . . . I . . . things were going fine! W-we went through a couple of Faith's memories, and I think we got some really useful information. I saw what happened in the alley when Finch died, and your confrontation with her at the motel. Oh! Then, I saw what happened at the Mayor's office . . . she went to turn herself in . . . but . . . it's complicated. He, uh . . . he put some kind of a spell on her . . . and then we were in another alley and Angel saved her. I tried to call to Tara to pull us out. I tried, Buffy! But something was wrong . . ."

Tara interrupted. "I heard you Will. I t-tried to get you guys out, but I couldn't, something was stopping me. I had to use the energy from the circle."

Willow looked away from Tara and towards the outside of the sand-circle. Her eyes grew even wider as she saw that all of the people in the outer circle were lying there passed out. Angel and Spike stood hovering over them, checking that they were okay.

"Oh my god!" Willow screeched, sobs now overcoming her. She couldn't believe how wrong things had went, and she couldn't help but feel that it was somehow her fault.

Buffy tried to get her attention, needing to know what else happened.

"Will . . . they're fine, they just passed out from the energy exchange. IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. We need to deal with Faith right now, because I don't know what to do here." Buffy said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

The red-head stopped her sobs long enough to tell Buffy and Tara the rest.

"After we saw Angel save her, something caught my eye . . . memory-Faith's eyes turned black, then bright white, and then she passed out. Our Faith had no recollection of that, or of the Mayor putting a spell on her. She never saw those parts in her dreams. Anyways, my back was towards her, and when I turned around, she was on the ground like she is now. God . . . Buffy, I didn't know . . . I didn't mean to . . . It's all my fault."

She broke down sobbing again. Tara scooped her up in her arms and rocked her gently.

Buffy stood up with Faith in her arms and tried to step out of the circle, but the invisible barrier that the sand had created held her back. She balled her hand into a fist and punched the barrier a few times, hoping to get through. After having no luck, she turned to Tara.

"Tara, can you break through this thing?"

Tara lowered her head and mumbled a few words, and the barrier dissolved into thin air.

* * *

As the barrier dissipated, Angel looked up and saw Buffy run out of the circle with Faith in her arms.

"Buffy! What the hell happened in there? What's wrong with Faith?" he left Spike to watch over the others and followed Buffy up to her bedroom where she gently lay Faith down onto her bed.

She turned to him and ran into his arms.

"I don't know what happened, Angel" she choked out between sobs. "One minute, everything was going smooth, then Tara was trying to pull them out because she heard Willow call to her. But, she couldn't do it, so she used the circle's energy . . . I guess that's why they all passed out. Next thing I know, Faith is shaking in my arms, and she's got blood coming out of her nose and eyes . . . and she's breathing, but I don't know what to do. We need help, Angel . . . we can't let this kill her." She buried her face into his chest and continued to sob.

He protectively wrapped his arms around her, whispering a few comforting words to her.

"Don't worry, Buffy. We'll figure it out, and Faith will be fine. This is what she would get like before after her dreams, but . . . never with the blood thing. I think we need to go wake up the others so we can look further into this." He let go of her and grabbed her hand, trying to get her to walk towards the door with him. "Come on."

She pulled her hand away. "No, Angel . . . I'm not leaving her alone. Go and wake the others, Spike and Tara can help. Send Giles up right away, please."

She walked quickly back to Faith's side, leaving him no chance to object.

Before he went downstairs, he walked into the bathroom and filled up a bowl with warm water. He grabbed a clean washcloth and towel and made his way back to Buffy's room.

"Thought you might want to clean her up a bit." He stated as he left the items on her nightstand, then turned to leave the two girls alone.

Buffy promptly grabbed the washcloth and dipped it into the water. She rang it out before gently wiping the blood away from Faith's face. As she worked, she quietly whispered to the unconscious girl in front of her.

"Faith? Can you hear me? You have to fight. You're so much stronger than this, and you're not alone this time. You're surrounded by people who care about you, including me. Faith . . . I can't let you leave me again. We're the Chosen two, sister . . . that bond alone makes it seem like we're meant to be around each other. I felt so lost when you were gone. Don't get me wrong, I hated you at first, for leaving me. I thought that we understood one another, that you felt alone without me, too. Suddenly, you weren't there, and I was mad at you for that."

She paused as she put the soiled washcloth back in the water and used the clean towel to dry the wetness from Faith's face. She continued whispering.

"But, I got over it when I came to see you in jail. Hell, I got over it even before that. I would try to feel you every night, just so that I wouldn't feel so alone . . . you know, temporarily fill the void that you left behind. And you know what? I didn't. Feel so alone, that it. Then suddenly, you're back in my life again, and Angel is telling me that all of the bad stuff that went down probably wasn't your fault, and that I should give you the chance to start over with a clean slate. I couldn't help but smile, because there's nothing more that I would love than to be given a second chance at a real friendship with you. I don't want to feel so alone anymore. And now, maybe I . . . we . . . won't have to. But first, you need to fight this . . . WE need to fight this. I've gotten too used to the idea of having you around again for you to just up and leave for a second time."

By this point, she was absentmindedly stroking Faith's hair.

She wasn't lying in what she had said . . . she really didn't want to feel alone again. But . . . could there be something else underneath it all? Could it be that it wasn't the feel of the Slayer-connection that she wanted, but just the feel of Faith?

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she heard someone coming up the stairs.

* * *

As she turned and looked towards the door, she saw Giles timidly hovering, not wanting to interrupt the tender moment.

"It's okay . . . come in Giles."

He walked into the room and looked down at Faith, still laying unconscious on the bed.

"Angel filled me in. Have there been any changes?" He asked quietly.

"No, none. I cleaned her up, and I tried talking to her, but . . . nothing. Do you think we should take her to the hospital?"

"No, I don't."

Buffy gave him a surprised look. She had expected him to go all parental and say, 'yes, absolutely.'

He continued. "We can monitor her here just as well. This is a mystical problem, not a medical problem. They wouldn't know what to do with her, much like we don't right now."

Buffy nodded her head. She turned her attention back to Faith and continued stroking her hair.

"Giles, seeing her in that coma everyday for 8 months was hard enough. She doesn't deserve this. We need to help her." Buffy pleaded.

She hadn't yet realized what she had just said, or that Giles had caught it.

"I'm sorry, but . . . did you just say that you saw her while in her coma, every day for 8 months?" He asked. His tone wasn't angry, just a bit confused.

"What?" I, umm . . . oops." She drew in a deep breath, then continued. "Yeah, I went to see her nearly every day. Guess I just felt bad that I put her there, and that she had no one else to be there for her. Plus, you know about the whole 'Chosen Two' thing and our connection, and how I don't feel so alone when I'm with her. I really can't explain it."

"You don't have to explain it, Buffy. You're an adult, and you are perfectly capable of determining how you feel. Trying to get me to understand in pointless, as long you understand it yourself. Besides," he paused, "you are well aware that there is _nothing_ about your generation that I understand."

He gave her a knowing smile, passing no judgment on her.

"Thanks Giles. Anyways, I think I should stay up here with her, make sure there are no changes or whatever. Is everyone else waking up down there?"

"Yes, slowly but surely. We'll start research right away. I'll send Angel and Spike out to patrol tonight. Perhaps they can stir up some information from the Mayor's former cohorts. This might be a good chance for you to get some rest, we have a lot of work ahead of us."

That sounds like a good idea. Thanks Giles." She smiled at him, and he simply gave her a small nod before turning out of her room and disappearing down the stairs.

Buffy turned back towards Faith. She walked to the opposite side of the bed and slowly laid down besides the girl, pulling her into a similar position as the night before.

"Okay, Faith. It's time to see if I'm gonna be a rich woman or not. We're gonna test out that 'All-healing Slayer Cuddle' that I mentioned. I swear, if this works? You get 50% of the profits." She laughed a little to herself before wrapping her arm around Faith's waist and pulling her into a tight embrace. "Alright, let's make with the healing."

She rested her head on the pillow and slowly dozed off.

* * *

Buffy woke to the sound of someone quietly calling her name.

"B? Hey B? Buffy?"

Buffy's eyes shot open, realizing that the voice was Faith's. She sat up quickly, looking down at Faith who had shifted onto her back.

"Faith! Oh my god, you're up! How are you feeling?"

Needless, she was surprised to see that Faith had awoken so soon. Angel had said that she was out for over a week the last time she had an episode like this.

Faith groaned a little. "Five by five, all things consid . . . no, wait, that's a lie. I feel like shit, thanks for askin'." She replied, laying her head back down on the pillow.

Buffy was too busy to actually listen to Faith's sarcastic answer. She was frantically checking her over, feeling her forehead for a fever, trying to feel for her pulse, looking into her eyes for signs of trauma, etc.

"How long was I out for this time?" Faith asked.

Buffy glanced over at her alarm clock. "Uhh, about three hours. I guess I kinda lost track of time while I was napping."

"Napping?" Faith asked with a grin. "I wouldn't exactly call that napping. Sounded like you were using a chainsaw to cut down some trees over there . . . I think that signifies a fairly deep sleep, B."

Buffy's mouth dropped wide open. "I do NOT snore, Faith."

Faith just glared at her with a questioning look on her face.

"Okay, fine! I might snore a LITTLE." Buffy admitted. "BUT . . . I have an excuse. I had to have my adenoids taken out when I was little. Now maybe you can answer a question for me Faith. What's YOUR excuse?"

Faith blinked hard and shook her head a little. "Nuh-uh, B. I don't snore, I've gotcha there."

Buffy smiled sweetly, and in her most innocent voice, she said, "Not that, Faithy . . . I mean, what's your excuse for the drooling you've been doing on my pillow?"

Faith looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I'm sorry, B, I must not have noticed it with being UNCONSCIOUS and all. How ever will you forgive me?" Faith copied Buffy's innocent voice and batted her eyelashes as she talked.

Buffy just growled a little. "Oh Faithy, I already forgive you." Buffy replied, teasing a little. "But, the pillow now belongs to you. Enjoy."

The two girls chuckled a bit. After a few moments, Faith finally decided to get down to business.

"So, fill me in on the missing details: we do the mindwalk, go through some bad memories, red tries to bring us back and can't, we watch the big finale, and then . . . go. Your turn."

"Oh. Right. Will turned around and found you laying on the ground, bleeding from the eyes and nose. It happened here too, outside of your memory. You whimpered, you trembled, and you bled, in that order." Buffy replied.

"I bled from the eyes?"

Buffy nodded.

"That's wicked gross, B."

Buffy nodded again. "Yeah, and I got to clean it up. Yuck. How convenient for you though." Buffy said skeptically, but in a joking manner. "You can't even stay conscious long enough after you start bleeding from your eyes to clean it up by yourself. I think it's a conspiracy."

Faith chuckled a little, as did Buffy who had relaxed back down, propping her head up on her elbow. She turned slightly onto her side so that she could remain in contact with Faith.

Faith looked downwards, hiding her eyes. "So, umm, what's the what? Am I dyin?"

"No, not gonna happen. Because I . . ." she goofily wrapped her arm around Faith's midsection, "am not letting you go, now that we're getting along so well and all. You'll be up and slaying in no time, right? And I'll be able to have a night off for a change, right" Buffy joked, trying to take Faith's mind off of the severity of the situation.

Faith chuckled again, the unconsciously laid her own arm over Buffy's across her midsection. "Sure, B. That could happen."

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Buffy, whose goofy grin turned into an endearing smile. They just gazed at each other for a few moments, happy to have the new-found peace in their often turbulent relationship.

They were brought out of their reverie when they heard a cough at the bedroom door.

Buffy immediately sat up and turned a bright shade of red when she saw that it was Cordelia. Faith just sat back and gave her a grin.

"I'm sorry; I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Cordelia asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She continued. "Oh, don't worry Buffy. I won't let your little cuddle-fest out of the proverbial closet. Besides, I think it's absolutely adorable. You can both use a little but of that slayer-lovin, as far as I'm concerned." Cordelia stated, making both girls blush and pull their arms back to their own sides.

"Anyways, I thought I should come and get you, Wes and Giles think they might have figured some stuff out with the details Willow gave them. Should I tell them you'll be down, in say, ohh . . . 10 minutes or so?"

Buffy looked up at Cordelia, surprised at how 'cool' she was being about the situation that she had walked in on.

"Uhh . . . who are you, and what did you do to the Cordelia Chase that we all know and fear?" Buffy asked, trying to sound lighthearted.

"She grew up . . . wearing big sister's clothes these days." Cordelia replied with an understanding smile. "I'll just be back on my way downstairs so you two can carry on with your vicarious cuddling and gazing." The two girls started to protest, but Cordelia cut back in. "I know, I know . . . 'it's a slayer-thing.' Whatever. Be downstairs in 10 minutes or I'm sending Dawn up with the Polaroid camera and lots of film."

She left without another word.

The two girls just sat there for a few minutes, content smiles playing across both of their faces.

Finally, Buffy helped Faith out of bed and down the stairs to hear the news.

* * *

**TBC**


	17. Revelations

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**Chapter Seventeen -- Revelations**

"There's a shadow just behind me  
Shrouding every step I take  
Making every promise empty  
Pointing every finger at me" -- Tool, "Sober"

* * *

All heads in the room turned when they saw Buffy leading Faith down the stairs. 

"Hey hey hey," Xander said, "if it isn't the Buffster and 'Living Dead Girl.' Ladies and Gentlemen, not even bleeding from the eyeballs can stop these two girls."

A few stray giggles were heard throughout the room. Meanwhile, Buffy walked Faith over to the living room couch, which had since been moved back into its proper place.

"I did the cleaning." Dawn beamed. "Oh, and by the way, I think we need a new vacuum cleaner. As it turns out, you're not supposed to vacuum up sand in large quantities, much like you're probably not supped to try to vacuum at the beach."

Buffy just sent her a glare before lighting up and saying, "Well, I guess it makes things kind of even. We suck your energy to bring Faith and Willow back, and you kill the vacuum cleaner. Guess it could've been worse . . . at least you didn't pierce something in a big act of retaliation."

When she finished her little encounter with Dawn, she gently placed Faith down on the couch and sat next to her. Seeing Faith shift uncomfortably under the staring eyes of the Scoobs, Buffy grabbed Faith's hand and gave it a little squeeze.

Just then, Wesley, Giles, and Willow walked into the living room from the kitchen, a few books and notebooks in their hands.

"If everyone is here, I suppose that we cab begin." Wesley stated, looking around the room to ensure that everyone was there.

Seeing as that everyone was accounted for, he continued.

"Right, I guess we can begin then. While the both of you were upstairs, we had to opportunity to question Willow on what happened during the ritual. She mentioned that the Mayor seemed to have placed a spell of some sorts on Faith. We've managed to translate the words. Basically, the spell translates as follows: 'My soul, your soul; make dark the space and void good will; my will be done; True friendship will help; only love will cure'."

"It's a rough translation," Willow interrupted, "I think I may have gotten some words jumbled. Still, we think it's some derivative of a Trivudian Control Spell."

"So, what does the spell do? It sounds pretty cryptic." Buffy asked.

"We've had to make a few assumptions here, but we're not through with our research yet. As far as we can tell, the Mayor removed a part of Faith's soul and put it in himself. In turn, he placed a part of his own dark soul in her to fill up the void. By doing this, he essentially filled her with his own darkness, and was therefore able to use her to do his bidding." Wesley explained. "I suppose when I told you before that 'something crawled into the place where your soul was supposed to be.' I wasn't that far off."

"So I was a puppet then, right? That wasn't really me?" Faith asked hopefully.

"Yes, we believe that was the case." Giles answered.

"But . . ." Buffy began, "if he was using her as a puppet, why was she still all 'woman scorned' even after he died? Wouldn't the spell have stopped working after his death?"

Willow answered the question. "The dark magic that he used was so strong that when he died, it continued to work."

Faith's eyes grew wide as she came across a realization. "Holy shit . . . does this mean that I still have part of the Mayor's soul in me? We gotta get it out . . . I feel gross . . . oh god, we gotta get it out . . ."

She began to panic, clawing at her clothes and skin in the process. Buffy quickly grabbed her flailing arms and tried to calm her down.

Willow quickly spoke up again.

"No, Faith, it's not in you anymore." When she saw Faith calm down a bit, she continued. "Part of the spell said, 'true friendship will help.' When Angel tried to save you in the alley, risking his own life in the process, he showed a true act of friendship and caring. That's why we saw your eyes glow in the dream. The spell was broken . . . the Mayor's soul and the darkness it carried fled you body, and you passed out from the loss of that energy. It's not in you anymore, Faith."

Faith visibly relaxed after hearing Willow's explanation, but she still had other questions in her mind.

"Okay: his soul isn't in me anymore. So, what's goin' on in here then," she pointer up at her head, "what's tryin' to take me out?"

"That's the tricky part, Faith." Giles answered. "The darkness was a part of you for so long that you body became accustomed to it. One might even call it a dependence of sorts, similar to a drug addiction. It appears that the sudden disappearance of the darkness has caused you to go through a sort of mystical 'withdrawal.' Hence, the hot and cold sweats, the tremors, the fatigue, the restlessness, and the pain."

"Holy shit." Faith said in wonderment. "Man, that explains a lot! When I was in prison, I was always binging on mad amounts of candy and sugary foods. It kinda took the edge off, made things more bearable. It's like when my mom would be comin' down off of a week-long heroin bender, she'd eat candy-bars and cookies by the dozen."

"It gets even worse, Faith." Wesley interrupted. "When the darkness was suddenly forced to flee by Angel's act of true friendship, you were left with a void . . . an empty space where the part of your soul was missing. It appears now that the darkness is trying to reclaim you, find its way back into the void, hence your nightmares and dreams. It's trying to make you see your dark side and succumb to it, but you're fighting, trying to stay on the right path. Therefore, it's going to try to get back in by any means necessary."

Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "Wait . . . I thought you said that the darkness or WHATEVER was forced to flee when Angel showed that he cared. Even if it _wanted_ to come back, how could it if it doesn't have a driving force behind it?" She asked, sounding very frustrated.

"A curse . . ." Willow muttered under her breath, not even aware that she had said the words aloud.

"What?!?" came from the mouths of several people in the room.

Willow shook her head as if she was startled out of a daydream, and then a look came across her face as if she had realized something.

"It's a curse!! It's a Trivudian Control Spell laced with a curse . . . it's no wonder that I couldn't figure it out, it's two things combined into one. I was only able to see one side of it. It's like trying to see half of an equation: it doesn't make sense unless you can see both sides. But," she paused and a grim look crossed her face, "oh boy, I think things just took another turn for the worse."

"Oh joy." Faith said as she sighed and sunk even lower into the couch.

"So, okay, it's a curse. What does that mean for us, Will?" Buffy asked.

"Buff . . . it's a curse, meaning . . . no one can remove it, save for the person who put it on her in the first place. The Mayor was really smart when he used that spell. He made it so that it would keep working even if he wasn't there to control it. Basically, the dark magic is going to keep working until it wins out." Willow explained, a hint of defeat in her voice.

Faith sighed even louder. "I repeat: Oh joy. Can't the convicted felon catch a break here?" She let go of Buffy's hand and put her hands behind her head, resting back against the couch. She turned her eyes up towards the center of the ceiling and kept the focused there, hoping to stop the tears that were threatening to spill.

"W-willow, I d-don't think that's entirely true." Tara said shyly from the other side of the room. All eyes turned in her direction. "There are two things that c-could happen here. The f-first one . . . well, there's no happy ending: the darkness finds a w-way back inside or it kills her trying. Second . . . the c-curse is broken. As it said, 'only love can cure.' There's still hope." She explained with an encouraging smile.

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed them with his shirt, a look of concentration on his face. "Perhaps it requires a declaration of love."

"Well, let's put that little theory of yours into motion." Xander answered. He hopped up from his seat and walked to the middle of the room. With his arms raised up into a 'V' shape, he loudly boasted, "I love you, Faith" with a goofy smile on his face. He spun around a little as if to announce it to everyone in the room.

"Hey!" Anya pouted from the corner.

The rest of the room remained quiet, everyone looking around to see if his words had caused any effects. After a few moments passed and nothing happened, Xander threw up his arms in defeat.

"Guess we can rule _that_ out. Sorry Faith. Can't say I didn't try." He shot her an apologetic smile before walking back over to his seat near Anya, who was doing her best to ignore him.

"Thanks, Xan-man. The gesture doesn't go unnoticed." Faith replied.

The group went silent again, pondering what else 'only love can cure' could mean. A few people mumbled under their breath, trying unsuccessfully to work things out in their heads.

"Perhaps it requires an 'act' of love rather than a declaration of it. Just like what Angel did in the alley; he could have simply said 'I'm your friend,' but he knew that wasn't enough. Instead, he tried to _show_ her. He wouldn't fight back, he talked her down, and then he just held her." Wesley explained.

The room lit up and everyone began speaking at once, trying to make sense of what Wesley had just said:

"So . . . what then? Faith and someone need to make with the lovin'?" Cordelia asked. "Talk about sexual healing. _Literally_."

"Oh sure." Angel muttered under his breath, a pout on his face. "Sex cures Faith, but it turns me all grrr and argh. Why couldn't all curses be cured like that?"

"Wait a soddin' minute here . . . are you saying that a little bit of the rough 'n tumble is the answer to your girls' problems?" Spike asked. "Well then sign me up. I'll take the bird out for a spin if it'll help, 'cause the lot of you know that I'm all about the helping these days." A wicked grin was spread across his face.

"Aha! So, the next time that Xander tells me that sex is not the answer, I can tell him that he's wrong, right?" Anya asked.

"No, Ahn, sex isn't the answer. It's the question. The answer is 'yes'." Xander goofed.

"Spike, you are _not_ having sex with Faith. Get that idea out of your head before I kick it out for you." Buffy said while giving Spike a death glare.

"Hey! If I'm getting' my nasty on, I'm choosin' my own dance partner." Faith said from the couch with a hint of both excitement and annoyance in her voice.

"Yuck. If any of you start having sex in this house, I'm turning myself in to social services." Dawn complained.

"I guess my mom was wrong when she said that sex wasn't the answer to life's problems." Willow commented.

They all began talking over one another, their words getting louder and more jumbled as the moments passed.

Finally, Giles had enough.

"Children, please!!"

The room once again turned silent, leaving most of the group feeling a little embarrassed about their little 'outburst.'

Giles continued.

"I believe that in this case, sex is _not_ the answer, thank you very much." Anya once again pouted from the corner. He paused for a moment, then continued. "As most of you are aware, sex does not always equal love. If an act of love is required for this, it would have to be something extreme, monumental. Perhaps a heroic act, perhaps the giving of mind, body, and soul. In either case, we still don't know enough about it to make such assumptions.

"I agree." Wesley spoke up again. "I believe that more research is in order. Angel, perhaps you and Spike can look for any remaining associates of the Mayor tonight and try to get up some more information. We'll take anything at this point."

Angel nodded, as did Spike. Although the two had a hard time getting along, they knew that they had to put aside their differences yet again for the greater good.

"I have to make a few phone calls to LA and make sure things are in order there before I go out tonight. Do you guys mind if I take over the basement as my workspace for awhile?" Angel asked.

"Not at all Angel, you know that my house is your house." Buffy answered.

"Great, thanks Buffy." He turned to Cordelia. "Do you want to help me out? If Gunn is having any trouble with your filing system, maybe you can talk him through, make some sense of it."

Cordelia nodded her head and headed with Angel to the basement.

Willow, Tara, Wesley and Giles headed into the dining room where the majority of their books and research material were laid out. They dove right back into their research without another word.

Xander and Anya decided to take Dawn to the movies and to dinner just to get her out of the house for awhile. They agreed to be back before dark, just to be on the safe side.

After all was said and done, Buffy and Faith were the only two people left in the living room. A semi-awkward silence filled the air as the two girls sat next to one another, neither knowing exactly what to say or do next.

* * *

"So . . . ." Buffy hedged. 

"So . . . . yeah." Faith responded.

"You wanna go sit out on the back porch? Get some sun on that pasty hide of yours?" Buffy asked as she stood up from the couch and held her arm out to the other girl.

"Yeah, sure." Faith responded as she lifted herself off of the couch. She interlocked her arm with Buffy's and the two girls made their way out the kitchen door and onto two chairs that were on the back porch.

A few moments of silence passed. Both girls remained sitting next to one other on the porch, but they avoided making eye contact.

Faith sighed. "Why is this so fuckin' awkward? I was kinda hopin' that we were past the whole 'awkward silences' and mixed signals' part of our relationship."

Buffy drew in a deep breath. "I don't know why. I thought we left all of that in the past too. I guess I just don't know what to say right now. There's so much to take in."

"Yeah." Faith exhaled. A smirk crept over her face. "But hey, at least I might get a little bit of lovin' outta the whole deal. I can think of worse things."

Buffy laughed.

"I guess that part of you will never change, Faith. Just the thought of getting a little action puts a smile on your face."

The two girls giggled a bit before settling back down to a more comfortable silence.

Suddenly, and ever-so-subtly, Buffy leaned over towards Faith and began to speak in a quiet voice, almost as if she were telling a secret.

"So, speaking of 'getting a little action,' what are you gonna do if that's actually what it takes? I mean, I know Giles said that probably wasn't the answer, but still . . . I know we're all probably thinking about it a little." She had a shy smile on her face as she spoke.

Faith just shook her head a little, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with where the conversation seemed to be heading.

"I don't know, B. Guess I really don't wanna think about it unless that's what it comes down to." She lied. _'Of course I'm thinking about it. Here I am, sitting directly next to the person I love, and there's talk of sex. Duh . . . what else do you possibly think I could be thinkin' about right now?' _

'_Oh god . . . she's givin' me a strange look. I must have a weird look on my face too. Shit! She must know I'm thinkin' about sex. Okay, stop thinkin' about sex, Faith. Sex. Stop it! Sex. Cut it out! Sex with Buffy. Quit thinkin' about sex! Geez, Faith!! One-track mind much?'_

Buffy just watched in amusement as Faith seemed to be having some sort of internal struggle. She finally let out a chuckle, which brought Faith out of her thoughts.

"What was _that_ all about, Faith? You can't tell me that you're not thinking about it. I can tell that you are. You look . . . guilty. So, come on. Give it up."

"What?" Faith asked, not sure what Buffy was asking.

"Give it up, Faith. I know you're thinking about sex. Now, I wanna know who's on the top of your list if that's what it comes down to. So, come on. No holding back. Oh . . . and no lying, I can tell when you lie. Your left eyebrow twitches."

"Again, I repeat: what?" Faith asked, subconsciously raising her hand to touch her left eyebrow.

Buffy laughed again. "Okay Miss Attention Span, I'll break it down for you again. If it comes down to 'the having of the sex', who are you gonna pick? There's a fine buffet of gentlemen here for you to pick from."

Faith hesitated. "Uhh, B, I don't think I wanna answer that."

"Why not? I thought we agreed to start over with each other. That means no secrets, no lies, and no holding back. I won't get mad, I promise." She smiled as to encourage Faith.

"B, it's a little awkward for me to talk about this with you. I know we started over, but this may introduce a whole new awkward aspect into the scheme of things that I don't think any of us are ready to deal with."

Buffy remained silent for a minute as she stared at Faith, trying to figure out what she was trying to hide. Finally, she broke her silence.

"I've got it figured out. You'd pick Angel."

"No, B, that's . . ."

"It's okay, Faith. I'm not mad. Angel and I are only friends. I can deal." She turned her eyes away from the other girl.

"B, listen to me. It's not . . ."

"Faith, I told you not to lie, and I respect that. I just have to wonder . . . I don't know if Angel can 'do it' or not, with the whole 'perfect happiness' clause of the soul thing. We might have to check into . . ."

"Buffy!" Faith interrupted, finally having enough. "I'm trying to be honest here with you, just like you asked. If you really wanna know who I'd pick, I'll tell ya. It's not Angel."

She paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

"It's you, Buffy. It's you."

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews. :) As always, any feedback is always welcomed and appreciated. :)


	18. Surprises

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen – Surprises**

"Buffy!" Faith interrupted, finally having enough. "I'm trying to be honest here with you, just like you asked. If you really wanna know who I'd pick, I'll tell ya. It's not Angel."

She paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

"It's you, Buffy. It's you."

* * *

Buffy sat quietly in her chair, replaying the words that Faith had said over and over in her mind. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead of her to some point in the back yard. The look on her face was a cross between shock and confusion.

After about two minutes of silence, she took a sideways glance at Faith and noticed that the other girl was anxiously staring at her, obviously waiting for some type of response.

The older Slayer knew that she had to say something, but she wasn't sure what. _'Is she messing with me? Is this just a sex thing? Or is it something else? . . . oh god . . . what if it's something else?'_ She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

After seeing the older girl struggle with her thoughts, Faith finally spoke up.

"Buffy, I'm not askin' for anything here, and I'm not tryin' to mess around with ya either. You told me not to lie, and I figured that I owed you at least that much. If it's honesty that you want from me, that's what you're gonna get."

The blonde sat quietly for another moment before finally lifting her eyes towards Faith and speaking. "So . . . what does that mean? Is it just a sex thing for you?"

"No!" Faith answered quickly. She grinned a little and said, "Well, I think that now we both know that I wouldn't mind a little lovin' from ya . . ." to which Buffy visibly tensed, so Faith quickly added, ". . . BUT, that's beside the point. It's not just a sex thing. It's kinda . . . more of a heart thing."

She braced herself waiting for the other girls' reaction.

Buffy's eyes had gotten wide and had quickly returned to staring into the back yard. Her body still tense, she began to chew on her bottom lip a little. _'Wait a minute . . . a heart thing? Does she love . . . how . . . what . . . since when?'_

Noting Buffy's nervous response, Faith decided to try to clean things up a little.

"Listen B, I don't expect anything back . . . you don't have to respond or do anything. I'm not imaginin' any monumental declarations from you or nothin' so don't worry about it . . . please. I just wanna get through this whole mess with my head first. If I make it out alive . . . well, I guess I'll have to deal with the consequences of this little discussion at that point in time."

Faith wasn't quite prepared for what happened next.

Keeping her eyes focused on some random point in the back yard, Buffy slowly and without warning reached over and took Faith's hand into her own. She interlaced their fingers and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Faith . . . this is a _lot_ for me to take in right now. I'm glad that you're not expecting a response, because I'm not sure that I can give you one right now. The only thing that I'm sure of is that I'm glad that you're back, and that I don't want you out of my life again anytime soon. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to help you, and we're all going to make it through this . . ."

She raised her eyes up to meet Faith's intent stare, and she continued.

". . . and when that time comes, you and I will schedule a little chat. But before that time comes, can we just stay like this?" She brought up their intertwined hands and raised her eyebrows. "Can we just be . . . like this . . . just be close, at least for now?" She smiled timidly, awaiting Faith's response.

Faith was pretty much speechless at that point. She hadn't expected Buffy to react with such a . . . lack of violence? and yelling? and anger?

The dark slayer responded in the only way that came to her mind. With a small smile on her face, she raised up their intertwined fingers and placed a small kiss on Buffy's hand. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding Buffy's hand against her lips. After a moment, she lowered their hands and opened her eyes to meet those of a smiling Buffy.

"Yeah, B. We can just be like this for now."

They smiled at one another before turning their gazes out towards the backyard. They remained sitting on the back porch, hands intertwined, just enjoying being in each other's presence.

* * *

The two Slayers had sat like that for a couple of hours. They hadn't even noticed as the sun began to set along the horizon and as the cool evening air settled around them. Only when they heard the sounds of Dawn, Xander, and Anya returning from their day out did the two girls finally decide to rejoin their friends.

Neither one of them seemed ready to let go of the other, so they walked into the house hand-in-hand. As they entered the kitchen, they found it bustling with activity, so much so that no one had even noticed them enter.

Angel was standing near the basement door with Cordelia in his arms, both of them smiling and slightly jumping up and down in excitement. Willow and Tara stood nearby holding hands, just smiling at the sight of Angel and Cordelia. Wesley and Giles remained in the dining room doing research, but they both seemed to have cheerful expressions on their faces.

When Faith had closed the door behind her, Willow heard the door shut and immediately ran over to the two Slayers.

"You guys are never going to believe this . . . Angel just got some really good news."

"Oh yeah?" Faith asked, looking over to Angel and Cordelia. "What kind of good news? You win an Oscar for Best Brood?" she joked, giving Angel a little wink.

Angel finally let go of Cordelia and walked over to Faith, taking her hands in his.

"Faith . . . do you remember when we were leaving the prison, how Drake did all kinds of protection spells?"

"Yeahhhhh. I _was _there Angel, and I'm not an idiot . . . or, well . . . not a _complete_ idiot. Of course I remember."

Angel smiled. "Do you also remember when he performed a Zedalyde Ritual to bind your soul to this plane?"

Faith raised her eyebrows and nodded, getting anxious for him to make his point.

"Well, I just talked to him, and he had some interesting news for me. Apparently, when he performed the ritual, it took effect on _everyone_ in the room . . . including me."

"WHAT?!?" Faith and Buffy shouted at the same time.

"My soul . . . it's permanent. It's bound to this plane. He didn't realize that the ritual would affect me as well. He only found out when he contacted one of his connections on a higher plane. Apparently, the Powers That Be are aware of what happened, and they're not going to interfere. It's mine, for good." He beamed, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Wait . . . are we sure about this?" Buffy asked. "Is there some sort of spell we can do to see if it's really true?"

"We don't n-need to." Tara replied. "I can sense it, it's in his aura. I wasn't trying to see it before, so I never noticed it. But now when I try to see and feel it, I know that it's definitely there. His soul is bright white, and there is no darkness around it . . . just pure light."

"Angel, that's fuckin' awesome!" Faith replied as she pulled him into a hug.

"Hey! Teenager in the room!" Dawn said as she came walking in, wanting to see what the commotion was about. "What's going on? Is Faith better?"

"No, Dawnie. But there's some other good news for a change. Angel's soul is anchored. It's permanent now." Buffy explained, a small smile on her face.

"Holy shit!" Dawn exclaimed, running over to Angel and giving him a hug.

"Dawn! Language!" Buffy scolded half-heartedly, trying to stifle her giggle at the teenager's outburst.

"Oops . . . sorry. Guess I kinda got caught up in the moment." Dawn said meekly. "But, hey, you can't blame me." She pointed at Faith. "Miss Potty-Mouth over there has been swearing since she got here. You can't blame me for being an impressionable youth."

Faith scoffed, pretending to be hurt.

"Aww, D. I thought we were tight!? And here you are, passing the blame. Yeah, I guess I have been a bad influence on you. Teachin' you to swear, and pass blame, and god knows what else. Hey . . . maybe I can teach you how to smoke."

"NO!" Buffy cut in. She grabbed Faith's hand and held on tight. "I'm not letting you near her without my supervision, thank you very much. That's all I need is a 'Junior Faith' strutting around here, calling me 'B' and sprouting random 'Five-by-Five's'. I get enough of that with you." She poked the other girl playfully.

* * *

Willow observed the new-found closeness between the two Slayers with interest. She couldn't help but notice that since Faith had arrived, Buffy had been extremely friendly with her, especially considering their past.

To her, it was all beginning to make sense. She always knew that the two slayers had shared a special bond due to their Slayer connection. But, she thought that was all there was to it . . . the Slayer connection. Now, she was beginning to see things a little bit differently.

Giles had come up to her while they were researching and had mentioned how Buffy had gone to visit Faith daily while she was in the coma. It had somewhat taken Willow by surprise. She knew that Buffy felt remorse for putting Faith in that condition, but she never thought that the blonde would let down her walls enough to express that remorse in any way.

Willow understood that Buffy had always felt alone, simply because there was no one who could completely relate to her life. That is, except Faith. And now, Buffy was reveling in the thought of having her dark counter-part back in her life and on her side.

What she couldn't comprehend was the fact that now that the two slayers were reunited, there seemed to be no way to separate the two. Not even a Slayer-connection could be that strong and impenetrable, she thought. It was something more . . . like the connection between two people with shared destinies, or even more than that. . . cosmic soul-mates.

The witch couldn't help but feel that there was still hope for the dark slayer. She wasn't sure how it would work or if it would work at all, but if Faith's soul was bound to this plane and the two Slayers were indeed soul-mates, then Buffy's soul would play an active part in fighting off the darkness that was trying to overcome her sister-slayer.

Willow just needed to figure out the formula.

* * *

"Well, as happy as I am, I need to get back to research. Congratulations Angel. I'm really happy for you." Willow said as she excused herself from the group in the kitchen. When she walked into the dining room, she pulled Giles aside and told him about her thoughts on Buffy and Faith's souls.

In typical 'Giles' fashion, the watcher removed his glasses and polished them with his shirt.

"I believe that you may be on the right track, Willow. In fact . . ."

He walked over to the table and began moving books and papers around as if looking for something in particular. After a moment, he moved across the room to a duffel bag that lay filled with books near the door. He reached in and pulled out a small leather-bound book and quickly returned to Willow's side.

". . . I seem to remember the case of an ancient Celtic Princess . . ." he flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for, "ah, yes, here it is. Princess Enid was from a mystical family, filled with witches and warlocks, etcetera. There were many demons and forces of darkness that were after her, as they wanted to harness the power of her pure soul for their own use."

He read further, and then continued.

"On one occasion, the demon Visrath had caught her and began a ritual to remove her soul and put it into himself. Halfway during the ritual, her witch-sisters vanquished him, and in doing so, they burnt up the part of Enid's soul that had been removed. For many moons thereafter, Enid suffered greatly as other forms of darkness tried to invade her to steal the remaining part of her soul. Her witch-sisters performed a spell using their own life-forces as a power supply. The spell enabled Enid to travel to a higher plane and try to get her soul back through a sort of tribunal. Though it's not written what happened while there, she returned to our plane with a complete soul. Whatever happened, she was much stronger and powerful when she came back, and the darkness halted its attempts to steal her soul."

"Wow." Willow exclaimed, slowly letting Giles' explanation sink in. "But, Giles, this is different. It's a curse. 'Only love can cure', remember?"

"Yes, well, I hate to be the one to point this out, but it seems as if we are lacking any other pertinent leads at this time. This spell . . . seems to be our only breakthrough at this point, and I don't believe that we have much time to waste in this matter. I suggest that we try it and take the chance that perhaps Faith's soul can be restored or mended in that way, and maybe that will drive the darkness away. We simply choose to go around the curse."

"I guess that since it's our only break so far, we can try it. But Giles, after what happened with the spell this morning . . . I don't know if I can do it again. What if something goes kablooey again or someone gets hurt. I don't want to be responsible for that." She replied with a hint of sadness and fear in her voice.

"Willow, I have complete confidence in you and your abilities. You weren't at fault for what happened this morning. Ask anyone, I'm sure they'll tell you the same."

"Okay then. If you think I can do it, and that we might have a chance here, then I say we give it a shot. I think Faith deserves another chance at life, and I want to help her. Gosh . . . I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth." She said with a little smile.

"I understand." He said, returning her smile. "Back to business, I think that we better start planning this event. Perhaps we should plan a group meeting for later this evening, in about an hour or so. Wesley and I will read further into the history and the ritual, and you can tell the others about our findings and the meeting."

The witch nodded and headed off into the kitchen to tell the others about the meeting.

Giles turned back to Wesley in the dining room and got right back to work, a small smile on his face at the promise that the spell could possibly hold in store for them.

* * *

Willow had entered the kitchen and found the rest of the group there, including Spike. She told them about the spell that she and Giles had discovered and about the story of Enid.

A couple of people questioned the validity of the spell, especially when being put up against a curse.

Willow explained that it was their only shot at the moment, and that they would further discuss it at the meeting.

Faith immediately hung her head, trying to hide the scared look on her face. Buffy was too wrapped up in the conversation to notice that the brunette had let go of her hand and had slipped out onto the back porch to be alone for awhile.

As Faith went to sit down on the steps, she heard the door open and close. Expecting it to be Buffy, she didn't turn around to investigate.

"Mind a bit of company, pet?" Spike asked.

She immediately turned her head around to look at the blonde vampire.

"Oh, hey. Nah, I don't mind. Care to cop a squat with a convicted felon?" She asked jokingly.

"Not unless you don't mind sitting next to a mass murderer." He joked back, pulling a cigarette out of a pack and lighting it. He held the pack out to her and she fished out a cigarette, lighting it with his lighter.

"So," he continued, "how come you're out here by your lonesome?" He asked.

"Got a lot of shit on my mind. Didn't want the Scoobs to have to indulge my ragin' insecurities. Figured I'd brood out here for a while, _then_ go back in and put on my 'Brave Little Toaster' face."

"Right. So the tough-girl act . . . all a front?" He asked, not removing his eyes from the girl.

"Guess so. That gives us one thing in common. You may try to be the 'Big Bad', but here you are, pullin' for the good guys. What gives?" She asked, finally looking over to him and meeting his gaze.

He smirked a little.

"You know, if you would've told me 2 years ago that I'd be making friends with the Slayer and her friends, I would've laughed and killed you for it. But, people change. Got me a chip and they took me in, even though I was always tryin' to kill 'em or fuck 'em over one way or another. They may not be my _friends_, but they accept me, and that's good enough."

Faith grinned. "Yeah? And why else, tough-guy? You gonna say it or are ya gonna make me do it for ya?" She leaned in slightly and elbowed him.

He arched his eyebrows at her, then finally shrugged his shoulders.

"It's all about the girl. Can't fight her, can't forget about her, and can't hate her no matter what I try. I love her . . . but she could never understand that. I'm a 'monster'. I'll never be good enough. So I try . . . I play nice with her Scoobies and help out where I can. Whatever it takes, right?"

Faith gave him a friendly smile. "Guess that gives us another thing in common."

Spike did a double take and just started at her.

"Yeah, you heard me right, tough-guy. 'It's all about the girl', right? For me too. It's always been about Buffy. I think I've loved her since before I even knew her. But me? I'm beneath her. Never expected her to love me, or want me around in any way, shape, or form. But, as of late, things seem to be changin' a little. She says she doesn't feel so 'alone' when I'm around. If that's what it takes for her to be happy? . . . me just bein' here? Then you better believe that I'm gonna fight 'til the end to make that happen for her."

Spike just listened to the brunette speak, realizing just how much she loved the blonde slayer. After hearing what she had said and looking back at the events of the day, he could see that maybe Buffy loved the girl too. A small smile crossed his face.

"We're both completely whipped, aren't we?" He asked, gazing out into the back yard.

"Yeah, I guess we are." She laughed.

"Let's review: one neutered vampire and one rogue slayer, both in love with the original Slayer. We're a sad lot, you and I. Maybe that's why I like you. We're a lot alike, Faith the Vampire Slayer."

"Yep we are, William the Bloody."

A comfortable silence fell upon the new-found friends.

Faith stubbed out her cigarette and was about to head back inside when she heard the door open.

"Faith?" Buffy called out. "Oh, there you are. I didn't even notice you step away until I noticed that my hand was cold." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm out here, B. Havin' a little chat with blondie here." She gave Spike's arm a little jab.

"Oh really?" Buffy asked, raising up one eyebrow. "Dare I ask about what?"

"Nah, nothing interesting, Slayer. Just makin' nice." Spike answered, giving Faith a wink.

"Alright, well, the meeting starts in a few. You coming in Faith?" She asked, putting out her hand to the other girl.

Faith smiled. "Yeah, B. I'm with ya." She stood up and grabbed Buffy's hand and let the older girl lead her to the door. As she passed by Spike, she brushed her free hand across his shoulders and gave him a friendly smile.

He returned the smile and remained seated on the steps as he heard the door close.

"'lright. If that's what it takes to make the Slayer happy, that's what I'm gonna do. I'll help the Rogue get through this, and let them be happy in love. Yeah, I'm definitely good n' whipped."

He stubbed out his cigarette and got up, opening the door to join the rest of the gang in the house.

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N**: Sorry for the randomness here, but I had to get some stuff out of the way in order to pave the way for the coming chapters. Feedback is always appreciated.


	19. The Night Before

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen -- The Night Before . . .**

The entire gang had gathered in the living room and now sat waiting for the meeting to start. Willow, Giles, and Wesley seemed to be conversing among themselves in the corner, trying to clear up their ideas before they started.

Finally Giles stepped forward and cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"Yes, erm, I believe that we are ready to begin. Has everyone been brought up to date with the new information regarding the witch-Princess Enid and the spell that saved her?" He addressed the room.

Everyone either nodded their head or said 'yes', indicating for Giles to continue.

"Right. So then, you understand that we have somewhat of a dilemma here."

"I don't understand what the problem is." Cordelia announced. "We do the ritual, Faith goes before the tribunal, and she comes back with a new and improved soul. Case closed, right?"

"Wait . . . she has to go before a tribunal?" Angel responded. "That's normally a really big deal. If it's anything like what I've seen in the past, she'll be there to answer for herself, but she'll need a warrior; someone willing to battle for her. One of us . . . will have to be her warrior."

All eyes began darting around the room. Right away, everyone began seeking out the warriors. Buffy was a sure-fire answer. Then again, both Angel and Spike could also be considered.

Willow broke everyone out of their thoughts.

"It's great and all that she only has to choose one of us to be her warrior, but that's not all that she needs. The ritual requires representations of the 5 elements to make it work. The ritual uses the energy from the 5 sources almost like a battery to power-up a mystical gateway. The gateway then transports Faith, her warrior, and the 5 sources to the location of the tribunal on a higher plane . . ."

". . . and therein lays a problem." Giles continued. "We don't know what happens on that plane. Even more, we have no idea what toll the ritual will take on the 5 sources or the warrior chosen. History revealed only that Enid came back with a complete soul and a new sense of strength and power, but it mentions nothing of the 5 sources or of her warrior."

"Another problem is that we can't be sure that this ritual will solve Faith's problem. It is a curse, after all, that is doing this to her. We can try and go around the curse, but we can't be sure that our efforts won't be entirely fruitless." Wesley added.

"So what you're saying is that we're pretty much goin' into this completely blind?" Faith asked.

"Exactly." Willow answered.

"Then we're not doin' it, end of story. Not after what happened last time. No offense, Red. I don't want nothin' like what happened to me to happen to any of you."

Giles sighed. "Listen, this is what we have come down to: We're out of options and we're obviously running out of time. I believe the only reason Faith is still alive is related somehow to the Slayer-connection that she shares with Buffy; it's keeping the darkness at bay. But, it won't be able to hold it off forever, as displayed by this mornings' little show. The ritual is risky, but sitting here and doing nothing is even riskier."

The entire group remained quiet, each person lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, Buffy spoke up.

"When do we do this?" She asked in her best 'taking charge' voice.

"Buffy," Willow said, "we still haven't determined that we _are_ going to do it. Faith said that . . ."

"I don't care what Faith said." Buffy interrupted, standing up from her spot on the couch next to the brunette slayer. "We _are_ doing this because I, for one, am _not _willing tostand by and watch her die. Guys . . ."

She took a few deep breaths to organize her thoughts and continued.

". . . one thing that we have learned in the last few days is that Faith is an innocent in all of this. All of the bad things that happened in the past? Not her fault. And now, the same thing that took away her free will is trying to kill her. I don't know if you guys are forgetting this, but we _help_ innocent people. Do we ever decline to help because it's too _risky_? NO! We don't. I understand that some of you may be scared, and I understand that some of you may not want to be part of the ritual. But, we have a pretty big group of people here. I'm sure that we can come up with a few volunteers to help."

She looked around the room, waiting for a response. Everyone remained quiet, simply taking in what she had just laid out before them. Finally, she spoke again.

"Me? I'm the warrior." She turned to Faith who was just about to voice her opinion. "Faith, don't. I'm doing this because I want to help you, because I'm not willing to sit back and watch you die and do nothing about it. Like I said before, we just got you back, the _real_ you, and I'm not willing to let you leave us again so quickly."

Everyone watched the display before them. Buffy's eyes had welled up with tears and she probably would have broken down sobbing had she not been trying so hard to get the words out.

They watched as Buffy, defeated by her tears and emotion, fell back onto the couch and covered her face, crying softly into her hands. They continued to watch as Faith leaned over and wrapped her arms around Buffy, trying to provide some comfort to the girl.

"Shh, B. It's okay. Please, don't let this mess get to you like this. I'm happy just to be here, to have made some peace and amends with all of you. I don't expect everyone to lay down their lives for me. But don't worry, 'cuz I'm gonna be as strong as I can. I'm not goin' down without a fight."

She seemed to have forgotten the presence of the people in the room as she held the other girl and spoke to her, placing small kisses on her forehead.

The group was pretty much in shock at the display of affection before them between the two slayers. No a single person spoke or moved; they just watched in earnest and waited for their feet to hit the ground again.

Finally, Willow spoke up.

"I'm in. You need 5 elements to make this work: earth, air, fire, water, and spirit. I'm earth. Being a Wicca and in touch with the earth, I think it suits me best. I'm in, Buffy." She explained in a gentle voice.

Buffy looked up with red eyes and gave Willow a smile while mouthing the words 'Thank you'.

"So, where does that leave us?" Giles asked. "Buffy is our warrior and Willow is earth. Do we have any other volunteers?"

At that point, everyone in the room raised up their hands. Between hearing Buffy's speech and seeing the display between the two slayers, they all decided that they wanted to do their part to help.

Buffy chuckled through her tears when she saw everyone's hands in the air. Faith smiled, holding back the tears of happiness that were threatening to fall from her eyes. Neither girl moved from the others' embrace.

"Well then," Giles began, "seeing as that everyone has volunteered, I think it may be best if we assign the other elements to those who best suit them. Are we all agreed on that?"

The group nodded.

"Right then. How shall we divvy this up?" He asked, looking around the room for suggestions.

"I think that Angel would be a good choice for spirit." Willow suggested. "Being a vampire, he's not supposed to have a soul. Still, he does, and he uses it to help so many people. Plus, it's anchored now . . . his forever."

Angel smiled. "I'm in."

"Oh goody." Spike quipped. "That leaves fire for me." He turned towards Faith and gave her an endearing smile. "I'm in, pet.

Willow looked to Giles, giving him a concerned look at Spike's offer.

Giles just shook his head. "I suppose it makes sense. Spike is dark, a demon, 'of hell' and all that rubbish. He seems to be our best candidate for fire."

"What?!?" Xander yelled. "Well, if he's fire, then I'm the water that puts his pale un-dead ass out. Count me in."

Once again, Giles nodded his head. "Yes, that makes sense as well. If Spike as a vampire represents fire, then Xander as a human would represent everything opposite of that: water. Brilliant. So, that leaves us . . . air?"

He looked around the room for affirmation.

"Oh, I've got that one covered." Cordelia noted casually.

A few doubtful glances were passed around the room.

"What?" She asked with a tone of incredulity to her voice. "Hello?!? Seer here, direct link to the Powers-that-Be. You know . . . those guys that we look up to the sky to . . . on a higher plane and all?"

A look of understanding came across the faces of the people in the room, finally getting her "air" connection.

"Geez," she mumbled under her breath, "feel like I'm talking to a Kindergarten class here."

"So, we have it settled then." Giles concluded. "Buffy is the warrior, Willow is Earth, Cordelia is Air, Spike is Fire, Xander is Water, and Angel is Spirit. Are we all in agreement?"

Everyone nodded.

"Excellent. As for Wesley, Dawn, Anya, Tara and myself, we will serve as anchors for the elemental sources. Buffy and Faith . . . the two of you will be in the middle and will be responsible for one another. Can you handle that?" Giles asked.

The two girls looked from Giles to one another, both with shy smiles on their faces.

"Yeah, I think I can handle that." Buffy stated, not taking her eyes from Faith's.

"I bled from the eyes, G-man. I think I can handle a little one-on-one time with the Buff." She stated, causing the group to laugh quietly.

Finally, Buffy turned her eyes away from Faith and looked towards Willow.

"So, Will . . . when do we do this?"

"Umm, from what I read, on the eve of the new moon . . . which, conveniently enough, is tomorrow night."

"Great." Cordelia replied casually once again. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can all go back to our normal lives, and hallelujah to that."

She received a few menacing glances and after a moment realized why she was getting them.

"Oh. Well, it's not that I don't like being here . . . _in Sunnydale_ . . . and making big with the help, but . . . you know. _It's Sunnydale_: big with the creepiness, not so big with the fun." She defended herself.

"Hey!" Willow protested. "We have fun. We have _lots_ of fun. In fact, living on top of a Hellmouth is a fun-a-palooza. Fun-ness abounds."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Lots of fun. Remind me to plan a return visit in the near future . . . you know, for pleasure, not business." She said sarcastically.

"Speaking if fun," Xander interrupted, "what say we head over to the Bronze and partake in a little bit of it, seeing as that tomorrow is looking like a big fat unknown to all of us."

"I second that motion." Anya stated. "I could use a drink, and this house is beginning to smell like corn-chips." Buffy shot her an annoyed glare. "What? It is. Too many sweaty people in a cramped environment seem to be causing the corn-chip effect. I'm not being rude, I'm being honest. Some people say that honesty is a virtue, you know."

"Yeah, well, some people say that silence is golden, and some other people say that you shouldn't say anything if you can't say something nice." Willow pointed out.

Anya snickered. "Yeah, well those people are idiots."

Once again, the room broke out into laughter at the comment that the ex-Vengeance demon made. In return, she smiled and nodded her head proudly.

After a minute passed, Giles called for the attention of everyone in the room yet again.

"I think that's actually a good idea. A night of fun a d relaxation might help you to focus more tomorrow on the chore at hand. So, go out, be young and have fun. Just be sure to get a good night's sleep. We'll meet back here tomorrow afternoon to prepare, and we'll begin the ritual just after dusk. Are we clear on this?"

"Clear as mud." Spike commented with a smirk.

"Wait, Giles . . . does this mean that you won't be joining us? I promise, we won't make you dance or pretend to be a former member of the Beatles this time." Xander asked with a goofy grin.

Giles smiled, ceremoniously removing his glasses to wipe them with his shirt.

"As mush as I appreciate the thought, no, I won't be joining you. There are a few books at my apartment that I would like to consult before tomorrow, so I'll be making my way there tonight."

"I'm not going either." Angel quickly added. "I'm not really into the club scene, I'm . . ."

"Oh yes you are going, Mister. You're gonna go, you're gonna smile, you're going to drink a non-blood related beverage, and you're gonna dance with me too. Are we clear on that?" Cordelia cut in, giving him a death glare.

"Crystal clear. Guess I'm in." Angel responded, defeat filling his voice.

As the rest of the group began to get up to go, Faith coughed to get their attention.

"Guys, I hope you don't think I'm a party-pooper, but I'm gonna have to sit this one out. I'm havin' enough trouble with the walkin' and the standin'. There ain't no way that I gonna be able to drink and shake my money-maker all night long. But, by all means, go. Have fun for me."

"That means I'm out too." Buffy commented. "I'm not leaving her here alone."

"Buffy!" Dawn squealed. "You have to go! I know that you're not gonna let me go without you, and I don't want to miss out on the fun again."

"B, you can go. I'll be fine here. I'll just catch a movie on TV or somethin'. No big." Faith stated casually.

"No, I'm staying here. I told you before, I'm not leaving your side." She then turned to Dawn. "Dawnie, you can go. Xander, do you mind taking her with you and Anya?"

"Sure. I don't mind taking the Dawnster off your hands for awhile. If it looks like we're gonna be real late, I'll take her, Willow, and Tara back to my place, that way we don't have to disturb your beauty sleep."

"Thanks Xander." Buffy gave him a warm smile.

Everyone began to slowly file out of the living room. After about 10 minutes, the house was empty except for the two slayers still seated side-by-side on the couch.

* * *

Both girls felt a little uncomfortable with the newfound silence in the house. That, along with their sudden alone-ness. 

"B, you coulda went with them. I don't mind bein' alone." Faith stated shyly.

"I know. But, I _do_ mind being alone."

Faith chuckled.

"B . . . you woulda been surrounded by your friends, dancin' circles around each other, havin' a good time. That's not exactly what I call 'alone'."

Buffy sighed. "To the 'average joe' it isn't. But . . . I'm not anywhere near your normal everyday girl. For me . . . even when I'm with them, it's kinda lonely. Not that I don't appreciate and love each and every one of them, because I really do. But, they can sit back and have fun and just . . . let go. I'm always peering into the dark corner or alley, making sure that my friends are safe around me. Don't get me wrong . . . I like to have fun just as much as the next person, but . . . it's hard when you're constantly looking over your shoulder, you know?

"Yeah, I get it. Or, at least I think I do. See, it was always different for me. When I would go out, I would have fun and just totally let go. Didn't have any friends to look after, y'know? Mighta been dangerous for me, but I could always handle myself. I guess that sometimes 'alone' isn't so bad." Faith shrugged.

Once again, Buffy blew Faith away with what she was about to do.

"I have to disagree with you there, Faith . . ." Buffy began with a smile.

As if it were nothing, she swung her legs up onto the couch and laid back, placing her head and shoulders on the brunette's lap. ". . . I think that 'alone' is completely overrated." She said with a smile and a laugh.

Faith just sat there frozen, her arms sticking out from her sides rigidly like a robot.

Buffy laughed at her response, or lack there of one.

"Geez, Faith. Loosen up a little. Here, let me help you out there, Mrs. Roboto." She grabbed one of faith's arms and rested it on the arm of the couch. She grabbed her other arm and draped if over her own stomach so that the brunette was essentially holding onto her.

"See?" Buffy asked, smiling up at the brunette. "This isn't so bad, is it?"

Faith took a deep breath and exhaled, relaxing a bit. She looked down at the girl in her lap and smiled. "Nah, B. It's not so bad at all. In fact . . . 'not alone' seems to be pretty fuckin' awesome."

For a few minutes the two slayers engaged in small talk. Faith absentmindedly began to play with the blonde hair sprawled out on her lap. Buffy was playing with the other girls' hand that lay across her stomach.

"So . . . TV. Are we going for infomercials or movie-of-the-week?" Buffy asked.

"Umm . . . you pick." Faith replied, not really caring what the blonde put on, as long as she stayed in her current position.

"No, you pick. I don't know what you like. I'm easy." The blonde replied innocently, not realizing that Faith was taking the 'I'm easy' part in a different sense.

Faith chuckled, catching Buffy's attention. When the blonde looked up, she saw Faith waggling her eyebrows.

"You're _easy_, B? That's the best fuckin news that I've heard all week." She joked.

"Faith!" Buffy yelled between her laughs. "You know that's not what I meant." She went to give the brunette a small punch on the arm, only to have her hand caught in mid-air.

"Now-now. That's not very nice, B. You're not supposed to 'rough-up' the handicapped girl. I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson, little girl."

"Hey! I'm not little!" Buffy stated, starting to struggle half-heartedly against Faith's grip, trying to hold back her laughter. "I'm just vertically challenged. I still kick ass!"

A small play-struggle began between the two girls, both trying to gain the upper-hand. At some point during the battle, Buffy arched up, bringing her face up dangerously close to Faith's.

They had both froze when they noticed the intimate position that they were in. Here they were: Faith holding onto both of Buffy's wrists, both girls' lips parted, breathing heavy and gazing into one another's eyes, mere inches separating their faces.

Faith blinked hard trying to fight back her urge to close the small distance and kiss the girl beneath her.

Somehow, her urges were winning over. With the last ounce of restraint that she had left, she managed to utter a few hoarse words.

"Buffy . . . I'm gonna kiss you." She lightly loosened her grip on the other girls' wrists, giving her an ample opportunity to pull away.

Between rough breaths, Buffy quietly responded, "Okay." She broke one of her hands free from the Faith's loose grip and placed it on the back of the girls' head, pulling her down into a soft but scorching kiss.

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N**: Sorry so long between updates, but I somehow got started on a few other fics and I'm trying to update them all, so I'm getting a little behind. I only see this story having 3 or 4 more chapters left, so we're nearing the end boys and girls! Please read and review, I appreciate all feedback. If you have any last minute requests for this story, get 'em in now before it's too late! :)


	20. Fleeting Moments and The Big Day

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**A/N:** Due to the popularity of the Fuffy-ness of the last chapter, I have decided to give you just a little bit more, hence the length of this chapter. All feedback is appreciated!!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty -- Fleeting Moments/The Big Day**

"Buffy . . . I'm gonna kiss you." She lightly loosened her grip on the other girls' wrists, giving her an ample opportunity to pull away.

Between rough breaths, Buffy quietly responded, "Okay." She broke one of her hands free from the brunette's loose grip and placed it on the back of the other girls' head, pulling her down into a soft but scorching kiss.

* * *

The kiss between the two slayers was soft and gentle, both girls exploring and simply getting used to the feel of one another's soft lips.

Buffy's hand had let go of the back of Faith's neck and now lay tangled in her dark tresses. She thought that she should be feeling hesitant or scared even, but she wasn't. She felt strangely comfortable and at ease in the brunette's arms, enjoying the velvet-soft feel of her warm lips and silky hair. It felt like 'home'.

The soft 'buzz' that she usually felt through her body from the Slayer-connection had turned into something much more intense, almost as if an electric current was running through her. It wasn't unpleasant in the least sense. Instead, it was almost . . . euphoric.

Faith was feeling the exact same thing. It was hard to contain her happiness at that point. She hadn't even realized that she had begun to smile into the kiss, drawing Buffy's attention.

The two girls finally broke apart, both being left a little breathless.

Buffy changed positions so that she was now sitting on the couch facing Faith rather than laying across her lap.

Faith noticed Buffy's change in position and quickly started feeling self-conscious. She thought that Buffy was going to be mad that she had kissed her, or even storm off. The brunette lowered her head, waiting nervously for some sort of response from the older girl.

Buffy saw how nervous Faith looked. The once 'Big Bad Faith' was now acting like a shy schoolgirl, and Buffy couldn't help but smile at the site before her. Without hesitation, she put her fingers underneath Faith's chin and made her look up. She cupped the girls' face with both hands and leaned in, placing a small kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Ewww." Faith replied, trying to hide her smile, once again completely relieved that the blonde hadn't knocked her out.

"Ewww?" Buffy asked incredulously? "That was hardly the response I was hoping for." She laughed.

"Well, ya kissed my nose, B. The very same nose that I was bleedin' from earlier. Hence, the 'ewww'. I think that maybe ya been hangin' around too much with the vamps that you're supposed to be dustin'."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I won't have to anymore, now that you're here." Buffy replied, taking Faith's hand in her own.

Faith smiled at first, but her smile soon faded into a nervous frown and she lowered her gaze away from the other girl.

"Faith? What is it?"

"I'm sorry, B." Faith replied, keeping her eyes lowered.

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry I kissed you like that . . ."

Buffy instantly froze. She wasn't regretting the kiss . . . so why was Faith?

". . . I shoulda had a little more control. You told me earlier that you wanted to just stay like _this_," she held up their intertwined fingers, "you know, be close without being _too_ close. And here I am, mackin' on ya just an hour later."

Buffy smiled and relaxed a little.

"Faith . . . I wouldn't have let you kiss me if I didn't want it. It may have been a 'heat of the moment' type thing, but I don't regret it. In fact . . .I wouldn't be totally against doing it again." She replied shyly.

Faith's eyes immediately sprang up and she turned her head to look at the blonde. She put on her patented smirk and cocked her head.

"Oh _really_? Guess I haven't lost my touch." She said cockily but in a joking manner. "I wouldn't mind a little 'instant replay' either."

Buffy's shy smile quickly turned into a mischievous one. "So . . ."

"So . . ." Faith copied, her smirk still firmly in place. She made the first move last time, so she was going to wait for the blonde to initiate this time.

Without another word, Buffy leaned in and met Faith's lips in another kiss. Like the first time, electric-like currents traveled throughout their bodies.

The kiss quickly turned from soft and gentle into something more. Faith ran her tongue along Buffy's bottom lips and was surprised to find that the blonde had parted her lips in response, silently granting her entrance into her mouth.

Minutes passed as their tongues danced and desire rose. They pulled one another closer and closer, relishing the close contact that they had denied themselves for so long. Instinctively, Faith's arms wrapped around Buffy's back, growing more bold as she ran her hands underneath the girls' shirt and indulged in the soft feel of her skin.

Buffy, for her part, was also growing more bold. Her hands wandered from faith's hair, down along her sides, and finally ended up near the hem of her shirt. Craving even more contact, she decided to push even further.

Hesitantly at first, she slipped her hand under the hem of Faith's shirt and placed her palms on the taut skin of her stomach. The simple gesture had elicited a small moan from the brunette, which in turn caused Buffy to grow even bolder. She moved her previously immobile hands so that they were gently caressing and stroking Faith's stomach.

By this point, the two slayers were completely wrapped up in one another. Neither girl was pushing too far, yet neither seemed to be backing off in the least bit.

They were so distracted that neither girl heard the sound of footsteps coming up the porch or the sound of the front door opening. They were only brought out of their reverie when they heard a gasp.

"Ahh! Oh my goddess!" Willow gasped, quickly covering up her eyes with her hands. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to . . . I didn't know! I didn't see anything . . . except kissing . . . and hands up shirts . . . and, oh my goddess!" She stammered, trying to find her way out of the room with her eyes closed.

Buffy and Faith had jumped at the sudden intrusion, but neither had made any large-scale efforts to cover up their 'show'.

"Will, it's okay." Buffy said calmly. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I, uh . . . I forgot my jacket . . . I, we turned around halfway there to come back and get it, but I don't think I need it anymore. Suddenly feeling very warm. Oh goddess! I'm . . . I'm just gonna go. Back to the car. And not talk to anyone."

"Willow, it's no big deal. You can open your eyes." Buffy stated, smiling at the obvious embarrassment of the red-head. Subconsciously, she was wondering why she wasn't feeling embarrassed as well, but she couldn't come up with anything. She shrugged it off.

"No, that's okay . . . denial suits me fine, thank you. I'm just gonna go. So, umm . . . enjoy your evening. Bye!" She said as she made a mad-dash towards the exit, running into the door on the way. "Ow!"

The two slayers laughed as they heard the door open and close and listened to her footsteps quickly retreating from the house. Silence filled the room once again.

Both girls suddenly felt a bit shy.

"Well, I guess it's not gonna be a secret much longer." Faith hinted, looking anxiously at the blonde. She wanted to know how the older girl felt about the whole situation.

"Yep, I guess not." Buffy stated indifferently. It just didn't seem to bother her.

As if nothing had happened, Buffy casually threw a pillow onto Faith's lap and curled up next to her, resting her head on the pillow.

"So . . ." Buffy started as she smiled endearingly up at Faith, ". . . infomercials or movie-of-the-week?"

Faith chuckled and mussed up the girls hair. "Your choice, Easy-B."

They turned on the TV and spent the rest of the evening like that: Buffy curled up on Faith's lap, and Faith stroking Buffy's hair.

* * *

None of the gang had returned to the Summers' Residence. Giles stayed at his own apartment, Spike returned to his crypt, Angel, Cordelia and Wesley had gone back to the mansion, and Xander took the rest of the ladies back to his place, not wanting to take them home to Buffy so late.

They had all enjoyed their carefree evening, but never forgot the task that they would be put up to the next day. The lack of Buffy and Faith from their little gathering was sure to remind them of that fact. They had all returned to their respective 'homes' by midnight, wanting to get a good nights rest to save up their strength for tomorrow.

* * *

Buffy awoke to the sound of her friends in the lower-level of her house. She hadn't heard them come in . . . in fact, she hadn't heard much of anything the whole morning. As she began to move around a little, she realized that she had nestled herself nicely into Faith's embrace.

She opened up her eyes and glanced up to find a pair of chocolate-brown eyes gazing down at her.

She smiled. "Hey."

"Hey." Faith answered back, her voice raspy with sleep.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Buffy asked playfully.

"Yeah, I was. But I kinda had no choice in the matter. I tried to get up about couple of hours ago, but you had this death-grip on my waist. Figured I could think of worse ways to spend my time, so I just kept my ass planted here."

"You could've woke me up, I . . . wait a minute. Did you say a couple hours?" The blonde asked, trying to sit up. Faith just nodded. "What time is it?"

Faith turned her head and glanced at the alarm clock.

"It's almost noon, B."

"What?!? I can't believe I slept that long! I'm normally Mrs. Bright-and-Early, and you're normally Mrs. Sleeps-a-lot. You must've rubbed off on me." Buffy added playfully.

"Is that an invitation?" Faith asked with a smirk, not able to ignore the perfect set-up that Buffy had innocently given her.

Buffy smacked her arm and giggled. "Maybe another time. Will you settle for a good-morning kiss?"

Faith waggled her eyebrows. "For now." She joked.

She pulled Buffy up to her and gave her a gentle but passionate kiss. Just like the night before, the kiss slowly started to build, distracting them just the same.

They were suddenly broken from the kiss when they heard yet another gasp. "Aah!" They looked up to see Willow standing there once again, hands over her eyes. "You guys need to get a 'do not disturb' sign or something."

"And to think that a simple 'knock' coulda avoided this whole situation." Faith joked.

"Argh! I did knock, but you two Love-birds must have been distracted by something."

"Oops, sorry Will." Buffy laughed, finding the whole situation incredibly funny. "We'll have to get you a blindfold, or maybe some bells to tie on your ankles so we can hear you coming next time."

"Or maybe you should just have your hearing checked. Slayer senses? My hiney!" Willow responded, eliciting a laugh from the two slayers.

After a moment, she peeked through her hands to make sure that the girls were decent. She then removed her hands form her face and inched closer.

"Giles said to let you guys sleep until noon to get some extra-strength. He was about to send Dawnie up to get you guys, but I jumped in, just in case I ran into something like this again."

"Thanks." Buffy stated.

Silence ensued as Willow was clearly trying to figure something out in her head. She finally spoke up after a moment had passed.

"So . . . with all of the vicarious smoochies that I've been interrupting, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that the two of you have made up then? Found a common ground? She asked with a sly little smile.

"Yep." Both slayers said simultaneously. Buffy continued. "We've come across a few realizations over the last couple of days. Faith has some kind of feelings for me . . ."

"It's a heart thing." Faith interrupted, nodding her head and saying it very nonchalantly while keeping eye contact with Willow. She didn't want to come right out and say 'love' because she didn't want to freak Buffy _or_ Willow out just yet.

". . . AND," Buffy cut back in, "I can't stand the thought of being without her again."

"Meaning?" Willow hedged.

"Meaning . . . I have feelings for her too. It took me almost losing her to realize that, I guess." Buffy replied shyly, a small blush on her face. "Willow . . . are you okay with this? You're not gonna freak out, are you?"

"I'm five-by-five, Buff." Willow replied, earning a wink and a proud nod from Faith. "I think we've all accepted the fact that the past is the past, and that Faith was simply a 'cute little leather-clad puppet', in the exact words of Cordelia. Plus . . . warm and cozy feelings? My give us an even better chance of winning this battle. I say . . . rock on with your girl-loving selves."

Buffy and Faith laughed at the red-head.

"Red . . . I gotta say, I like ya more and more every day."

"Thanks, Faith. And I definitely like the new and improved you: full of wit, smirks and innuendos, and lacking in the 'I want to kill my friends' area. Definitely a change for the better. Anyways, I'm gonna go back downstairs . . . make up some kind of cover story for why I was gone so long. I'll see you both in a while."

With that, Willow headed out of the room. The two slayers immediately got up from bed and got dressed before following the red-head down to see the rest of the Scoobies.

* * *

The gang had spent most of the afternoon just talking and goofing around. Giles knew that they should have been preparing and reading further into the ritual, but he didn't want to deprive them of what could very well have been their last time together as a group.

The entire group was easily able to tell that there was something up between Buffy and Faith. They two girls didn't leave one another's side at any point during the day, excluding trips to the bathroom.

In any case, the light mood in the room started becoming more and more somber and dusk was quickly approaching. Awkward silences and strained glares began to fill the room, making just about everyone uncomfortable.

When dusk approached and the tension became just about unbearable, Faith finally decided to ease everyone's misery.

"Alrighty boys and girls . . . time to get our hands dirty. Who's with me?"

* * *

About 10 minutes had passed and the gang had managed to move just about all of the furniture out of the living room. Willow and Tara had brought several supplies in the room, ranging from herbs and oils to crystals and books.

They began their preparations by pouring another ring of white sand, though larger than the one they had made last time. At five equally spaced points along the circle, they placed a crystal and a small satchel of blended herbs and roots. The crystals were to act as filters for the energy sources, and the herb-satchels were carefully concocted blends that made up a strong form of a protection spell for each of the five energy sources.

As Willow and Tara finished their work upon the circle, Giles began another task. He pulled out a glass vial with an amber-colored oil in it. He called over the five sources, the warrior, and Faith and dabbed a small amount of oil on each of their foreheads.

"The members of the tribunal will only allow you in their presence if you have been anointed with this oil by a High Priest of the Radev Order. They would consider it blasphemous for you to go there without this."

"Umm, Giles," Xander interrupted, "I hate to burst your bubble, but I think they might know that you're not a High Priest of the Radish Order."

"It's 'Radev', and I am a High Priest among its ranks."

"Since when?" Willow asked doubtfully.

The librarian stammered for a moment before finally telling the truth. "Since last night. Internet certification is a wonderful thing, alright?"

He ignored the few stifled giggles that he received and finished up with the anointing.

"So, the last thing we need to arrange is the anchors. Perhaps the sources should take their seats among the circle."

At that point, Angel, Cordelia, Spike, Xander, and Willow made their way to the sand-circle and took their respective seats.

Buffy and Faith stood hand-in-hand in the corner of the room, neither wanting to step into the circle yet. To them, it almost felt as if they were stepping into doom. Even worse, they knew that anything they were going to say at that point would sound needy and desperate, and possibly depressing, so they just watched on in silence.

"I'm going to be Xander's anchor." Anya stated. "Behind every good man is a good woman, and that's me."

"Okay." Giles commented. "Wesley, would you pair with Cordelia?"

"Of course." He made his was over to a nervous-looking Cordelia and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I-I'll pair with Willow," Tara commented, "I think I'll be the m-most useful to her."

"I agree." Giles stated. "That leaves Spike and Angel, and Dawn and myself."

"I'll take the 'lil bit." Spike quickly cut in, receiving a few glares. "What? Can I help it if I don't want a Tweed-y middle-aged bloke over my back? No. The niblet is with me."

"Fine." Giles conceded. "That leaves Angel and I. Right then. I believe that we are just about ready to begin."

"Wait . . . that's all?" Buffy asked, sounding scared.

"Erm . . . yes, I believe so." Giles answered truthfully.

"But . . . what are we supposed to do? What is _Faith_ supposed to do? Are you telling me that we are walking into this completely blind?"

"Buffy, I thought that we had pretty much established that fact yesterday. Willow know what she has to say to begin the spell, and then the magic will lead us from there. The gateway will be activated, and you will all be sent to the tribunal. I'm sure that they will help to guide Faith in her journey while she's there. Just . . . be prepared for anything. That's all I can tell you." Giles answered, trying to calm his slayer a bit before they continued.

Still holding Buffy's hand, Faith began to step towards the circle, only to be jerked back by the small blonde.

"Faith . . . wait. I just want to tell you . . ."

"Buffy, stop." Faith interrupted as gently as she could. "Anything you're gonna say is gonna sound like goodbye, so . . . just hold on to it till we finish this, 'kay?" She squeezed Buffy's hand, trying to put on a brave face. But inside, she was terrified; she thought that this was her end, for sure.

Buffy gave her a small smile, blinking back her unshed tears. After a moment, she let Faith lead her to the circle and they stepped into it together, hand in hand. Willow had arranged two pillows in the center so that the slayers could lay back onto them, so the two girls immediately laid down next to one another, hands clasped in a death-grip.

As the anchors stepped up and took their positions, they were finally ready to begin.

"Well . . . this is it. After I begin the first incantation, there's no going back. Is anyone having any second thoughts?"

"Yes!" Several people yelled out jokingly, trying to lighten up the mood a little.

"Okay, that's normal, but totally unacceptable. We're in this together now, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's begin then." She glanced around the room one more time, making sure to make eye contact with every last person there. Finally, she closed her eyes and began the incantation.

Upon completing the words, the sand began to glow a fierce red color, enveloping everyone in the room this time.

"Here goes nothing." Willow added before starting the second part of the spell. She uttered some words in Latin, and suddenly, bright white light began to emit from the five power sources.

"Excellent," Xander commented, "I'm a flashlight."

Willow muttered a few more words, finally finishing the spell. In an instant, the five sources fell back into the arms of their respective anchors, seemingly passed out. Buffy and Faith, who had been anxiously looking around from the middle of the circle, also seemed to pass out a moment later.

Faith had been nervous when she had entered the circle. She became even more nervous as she watched the five sources pass out, just moment before she followed suit. She didn't remember what happened during the time that she passed out, but now she felt herself lying on a floor, her eyes still closed.

She heard a sound, similar to an echo of something dropping in a large hall. Realizing that she was no longer in the Summers' living room, she slowly opened one eye, then the other.

The dark slayer quickly scrambled up from the floor, taking in her surroundings.

She felt really disturbed. Not because of the large void of a room that she seemed to be standing in. Not because of the three robed figures who stood staring before her on marble-laden throne. Not because a small trickle of blood had worked it's way down from her nose.

She was disturbed because she was standing there . . . alone.

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N:** The next chapter is the big one! Please read and review!


	21. The Tribunal

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**A/N: **Here's the big showdown. Please read and review . . . I'm dying to know what you guys think!!!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One – The Tribunal **

* * *

The dark slayer quickly scrambled up from the floor, taking in her surroundings.

She felt really disturbed. Not because of the large void of a room that she seemed to be standing in. Not because of the three robed figures who stood staring before her on marble-laden throne. Not because of the small trickle of blood that had worked its way down from her nose.

She was disturbed because she was standing there . . . alone.

* * *

The three robed figures watched Faith as she anxiously looked around, breathing heavily and bordering on a state of panic.

She blinked her eyes hard trying to take in her surroundings. She didn't seem too awed by the massive gray marble columns that towered along the perimeter of the circular room, nor by the meticulous bronze and jade carvings that lined the walls. In fact, she seemed to look right through them all as if she were searching for something.

The robed figures knew exactly what she was looking for . . . her cover and her warrior. But, they couldn't let her see them . . . not yet.

As a part of the process, the figures had used a cloaking spell so that the "Hollow One" (Faith would not be able to see or interact with her coven and warrior, and vice verse. They all happened to be in the same room, but they were only able to see and hear with the tribunal members wanted them to.

The middle figure, and aged man with a short gray beard and white eyes, stood up to get Faith's attention.

"Hollowed One, come forward." His deep voice boomed in a powerful but gentle manner.

Faith hesitated, her eyes darting between him and various points in the room.

"Child, do not fear. Your coven is safe, as is your warrior." Faith immediately focused her gaze on the man, and he continued. "It is not time for them yet. They are here, but they do not see us, and you cannot see them. Not yet."

"Wait . . . what do you mean, 'my coven'?" Faith asked.

The man chuckled. "Your coven, child. Surely your coven was responsible for powering the gateway. Only strong sources of cosmic power could fulfill such a requirement. Who else could take on such a task?" He asked disbelievingly.

"Umm . . . I got some news for ya, Pops." She pointed at herself. "I don't have a coven cuz I'm _not_ a witch."

"What?" He asked suspiciously. "That's impossible. This tribunal is only for the descendents of Enid and her coven. Surely a descendent of Enid would be as powerful a witch as she was if not more so, especially after her visit to us."

"Enid?" Faith asked. Then, a realization hit her. "OH! You mean that Witch-princess chick? Nahh, I ain't her descendent. I may act like a real 'witch' sometimes, and I've been called a '_Royal_-Pain-in-the-Ass', but a Witch Princess I'm not."

The man paused, taking in what she had just explained.

"If you are not a descendent of Enid nor of her coven, than I am afraid that we cannot help you, child. Our powers are too great to be used on a mere mortal."

"She is not just a mere mortal." One of the other robed figures, a middle-aged female, spoke up. "I can smell her power. Not a witch, not a demon . . . not a mere mortal. Child . . . what are you?" She asked with a gentle smile, standing up to join the bearded man.

"I'm a Slayer, and I have a name so you can lay off with the 'child' bit. It's Faith."

The third remaining figure, a strong young man, stood up and engaged Faith. "Faith? Such a strong name for a girl with such a lack of it." He said bitterly, then turned to his fellow brethren. "This is a waste of our time. She is trivial, barely worthy of our presence, let alone out efforts. Let her rot." He said angrily before turning around and heading back towards his seat.

"Balthazor, hold your tongue!" The female yelled out, instantly getting his attention. "You do _not_ speak for the remaining factions of this tribunal. You will wait for OUR judgment before you decide to condemn this girl!"

"Ilaya, do you not see that this cause is not worthy of our efforts?" He spit back at the female, his voice full of venom. "She is a Slayer. Another will be called to replace her. I sense NO great loss of power here, nor do I foresee a shift in the balance of good and evil without her." He turned towards the aged man. "Magnus, surely you must agree with me.

The aged man thought about if for a moment.

"I'm sorry, but I do not. We cannot simply dismiss this child due to her lack of a so-called higher status. She is a Slayer; a defender of good. True, another can be called. But, read her, Balthazor. Look deep into her. She is an innocent in this. She deserves a chance."

"I . . . SEE . . . NOTHING!" Balthazor answered, seething with anger.

"Look harder." Magnus answered. "She was robbed of her free will and used as a tool for evil. She lacks part of her soul not because of her own doing, but because of the doing of a dark being."

"I already know all of this." Balthazor cut in. "Perhaps you are the one who should be looking deeper into her, Magnus. Do you not sense the curse? Do you not see that it is not in our hands?"

"That's rubbish. Both you and I know that we can work around a measly mortal curse. Our powers are greater than that, brother. It is our purpose for being." Magnus replied.

Faith watched the exchange between the three figures in awe and confusion. She got the basic gist of their conversation: Magnus and Ilaya were willing to at least listen to her and possibly help; Balthazor was being a real bastard about the situation, and he wanted to simply discard her. She remained silent, not wanting to further upset the situation.

Balthazor sighed, knowing that his fellow brethren were correct. Still, he was not going to give up that easily.

"I'll entertain your thoughts for a moment, Magnus. Suppose we want to help this _girl_. We cannot do it out of the so-called 'goodness' of our hearts. That's not the way this works; not in the past, and not now. A sacrifice must be made; something must be lost in order for something to be gained."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Faith cut in, not liking what she was hearing. "A sacrifice? I don't think so. In case you guys haven't heard, I gave up the killin' a long time ago. Nothin' but good deeds left in me these days."

Ilaya stepped forward. "That is not the type of sacrifice that we speak of, child. As all things in life, nothing comes free. Something must be forfeited or surrendered in return. Love, innocence, power, soul, emotion . . . something must be exchanged."

Faith thought about it.

"Well . . . soul: I already seem to be lacking part of mine. Emotion: I've never been a real emotional gal as it is. Power: it's not mine to give, it's the essence of the slayer, not of 'Faith'. Innocence . . . well, I lost my innocence a long time ago. And as for love . . . I only just found it. I'm not willing to give it away. Not for anything. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"See!" Balthazor spat. "She can save herself with a small sacrifice, and yet she will not do it. As I said . . . she is not worth out time."

Faith couldn't help it. Before she could stop herself, her hand was in the air, waving her middle-finger at the young man.

"If this _child_ will not help herself, then we cannot help her either." Balthazor added while shooting daggers at Faith, who was giving him the cockiest grin she could muster.

Ilaya stifled a laugh that was trying to escape after witnessing the interaction between the two.

"Perhaps she doesn't have to make the sacrifice herself." Ilaya stated to her brethren, then turned her attention to Faith. "I believe it's time that we call on your friends."

She raised up her arms then lowered them, seemingly lowering the cloaking spell that had been placed.

* * *

In a flash, Faith saw Buffy and the others appear in the same room, all looking rather frantic. The group looked shocked as Faith and the robed figures appeared suddenly as if out of thin air.

"Faith!" Buffy shouted, instantly running over to the brunette and throwing her arms around her in a tight embrace. "Oh my god . . . we thought something bad happened . . . you were gone for so long." She said into Faith's shoulder as she buried her face into the younger girl.

Faith instantly responded to the blonde, wrapping her arms around the obviously frightened girl.

"It's okay, B. I've been right here the whole time." She pointed at the robed figures. "These guys made a cloaking spell so we couldn't see each other or somethin'. Said I couldn't see you guys 'til it was time. I guess it must be that time right about now."

Buffy made no move to even look at the tribunal members. Instead, she pulled back from Faith just enough to look into her deep brown eyes, ignoring the presence of everyone else in the room with her. She gave Faith a tender smile and studied her face over, making sure that she was unharmed. She froze just a little when she saw small remnants of a blood trail coming from the brunette's nose. Faith picked up on her fright right away.

"It's nothin', B. I feel fine. I _AM_ fine. Much better now that you're here." She gave Buffy a small grin and moved her hand to brush the blonde's hair out of her face.

Their moment was broken when they heard a scoff.

"You must be fooling!" Balthazor yelled, his voice once again angry. "You're in love with your warrior?!? This has gone from sad to ridiculous. This is enough for me!" He turned to face his brethren. "Magnus, Ilaya. This does not deserve our attention. I will not become the object of ridicule amongst our peers for helping this waste of a person. _I REFUSE TO HELP HER ._" He turned his back away from Faith and her friends, thus shutting them out.

Faith's eyes shot down toward the ground, obviously feeling completely defeated. She hated the young man who wanted so badly to condemn her. She thought that if she had to continue looking at him, she would do something stupid.

Buffy noticed Faith's look of defeat, and she finally decided to stand up for her and to do what was right. She had let the girl down in her past by not helping her the first time she was in trouble. She wasn't going to stand by and watch her slip away again.

Through clenched teeth she began to speak, looking up defiantly at Balthazor.

"_YES, YOU WILL HELP HER."_

The words had caught the three figures' attention, causing them all to look her way. Buffy continued.

"You will help her, because she _deserves_ it. Because she came here in good faith to ask for help; something that was _never_ easy for her to ask for. Because you have the power to. And because if you don't? . . . things are going to get a LOT worse than simply dealing with the loss of a Slayer."

"Really?" Balthazor asked, amused at the defiance of the small blonde before him. "And pray tell, how exactly do you mean, _little girl_?"

"Because you won't be dealing with the loss of one Slayer. You'll be dealing with the loss of two." She said very matter-of-factly, staring at the figures in front of her.

"You're a Slayer as well?" Ilaya asked.

"The original."

"So you will end your life if we do not help this girl?" Magnus asked, slightly confused.

"No, I won't kill myself. I don't believe in that. But . . . turning away from slaying? THAT I would do."

"You would simply turn your back on your calling?" Magnus asked. "Turn your back on what you're meant to do?"

"In a heartbeat." Buffy quickly replied. "I've always said that I'd love to live the life of a 'normal girl'. This would just give me the perfect opportunity to finally take that option. And besides . . . you don't seem like one to talk. Isn't it you guys right now that are turning your backs on _your_ calling? Seems to me like you made that decision just as easily."

The entire gang just sat there, wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Buffy's little act of defiance. They knew that she was a tough girl . . . but her 'act' was almost beginning to convince even them.

"We are not turning on our calling, Slayer." Ilaya answered. "We are simply evaluating the situation from a higher standpoint. We must take into the consideration the balance of good and evil. If we . . ."

"Sister, stop this." Balthazor cut in. "We do not have to explain ourselves to these mortals. We are higher beings! Acts of defiance such as this should be punished, not rewarded! Even still, the loss of two Slayers is not enough to tip the balance. Another Slayer will be called. The world can do without these two."

He glared at his brethren, trying to make them understand his point. However, not much time was given to ponder his explanation as another voice cut in.

"Yeah, maybe the world can withstand the loss of two Slayers. But can it withstand the loss of the vampire with a soul?" Angel asked, stepping forward from the background.

Immediately, the three robed figures turned their heads to meet the source of the voice.

"Angelus." Magnus murmured.

"Actually, it's Angel now. But I'm glad that you've heard of me. That means that you've heard of the prophecies regarding me. That I'll be a key player in avoiding numerous apocalypses, that the balance in the fight against good and evil may lay in my very capable hands."

The three figures remained speechless, obviously knowing the importance of Angel in the affairs of the world. He continued.

"You refuse to help Faith? I refuse to fight another day. I retire, and let the world pass me by while I sit on my Lazy-Boy and watch TV. If anyone deserves a second chance, it's Faith."

Balthazor scoffed.

"If you think you can intimidate us into helping this girl, you are sorely mistaken, we . . ."

"Oh, we're not done yet, nancy-boy." Spike said, stepping forward. "You ever hear of William the Bloody? The Scourge of Europe?"

The almost-frightened stares of the robed figures confirmed Spike's question.

"Yeah? Well, that's me. See, I've been a nice lil' boy lately on account of this chip in my head. But that doesn't mean I'm _good_." He pointed at Faith. "I've known lots of people that deserved death, and I gladly bestowed it upon them. But this bird doesn't. I might not be able to hurt a fly, but I can gather an army of vamps and demons alike that would bow before a master vampire of the Order of Aurelius. You don't help her? I gladly get my naughty on. An army like that under my control would have a bleedin' good time altering the balance of good and evil."

"You're bluffing." Balthazor said defiantly, not wanting to appear powerless in the situation.

"Try me." Spike said with a smirk, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Try us too." Willow stepped forward, dragging a nervous-looking Xander with her. "Do you want to cross the path of a warlock and a witch scorned? Giles always told me I couldn't play with the dark magicks, but I've just been itching to give them a try." Willow stated, trying to sound as confident and cocky as possible.

"I can sense your power, witch." Ilaya stated gently, then looked skeptically at Xander. "But I sense no power from him."

"It's a cloaking spell!" Xander blurted out in true Xander-fashion. "The best way beat your enemy is not to let them know that you have power. Oh, I've got power, alright. I'm just keeping it hidden. It's the ace up my sleeve." He wasn't sure his little ruse was going to work, but he didn't think that they would call his bluff.

"That's a nice move, Warlock." Ilaya stated with admiration, obviously falling for his scam.

Xander smiled nervously.

"Oh, and let's not forget the vision-girl here." Cordelia stated, casually walking up behind Faith and slinging her arm across the girls' shoulder. "Seems that your cousins, 'The Powers that Be', like to give me visions so that I can help the helpless. To me, Faith is a helpless. If you can just turn your back on her and not feel bad about it, then I figure I can do the same thing. I'll get some Extra-Strength Tylenol to block the headaches, and I'll learn to tune to a different channel. Thinks of all the innocents lost . . ." She trailed off, pretending to deeply think about it.

Buffy chuckled, growing even bolder at the assistance offered by her friends.

"So, it seems that you have a little bit more to consider now, don't ya? Let's recap. If you don't help Faith, you: lose two perfectly broken-in Slayers, one highly prophesized Vampire with a Soul, and one link to 'The Powers that Be'. You also get a new and improved Big Bad master vampire, and a witch and a warlock that like to dabble in the black magicks. I think that you may begin to see a _biiiiiig_gggg shift in that balance of good and evil. Plus, we've got more troops at home. Another powerful wicca, an ex-Vengeance demon with lots of connections, and worse of all: a whiny teenager with a penchant for nagging and getting under your skin. This could be the easiest . . . or hardest decision you could ever make."

The three robed figures remained silent, completely blown away by the display that had just happened before them. They stood there under the defiant glare of the group before them.

* * *

After a few moments passed, Magnus finally stepped forward.

"I have made my judgment, and I am prepared to announce my decision to my brethren of this tribunal."

Buffy tightened her grasp on Faith's hand. Cordelia, on the other side of Faith, did the same thing.

"It is my belief that the balance between good and evil would be monumentally thrown off if our help is not give. Therefore, my contribution to this tribunal is that we shall help this child." He smiled warmly at Faith.

"I concur." Ilaya stated, smiling just as sweetly.

Balthazor scoffed.

"You give in too easily, brothers." He paused. "Fine, I concur as well. BUT . . . there is still the issue of sacrifice."

"Sacrifice?" Buffy asked, sounding nervous.

"Yes, sacrifice. Something must be surrendered for something to be gained."

"So it's not a blood thing then. We just have to . . . give something up, right? Kinda like Lent, and giving up chocolate or something?"

"Or something." Balthazor stated. "Love, innocence, power, soul, emotion, humor, hope . . . it must be something meaningful. AND . . . this is a special matter. A forfeit shall be required from each of the sources, to be given up 'in general'. The warrior, on the other hand, must surrender something to the Hollow One; a gift that cannot be returned or refused."

He looked towards his brethren, waiting for their approval.

"Yes, I must agree. This is a special case, and special measures must be take." Magnus stated, and Ilaya nodded in agreement. He turned towards the group. "Are you prepared to give something up for this child?" He indicated Faith.

After a moment or two of thought, the entire gang slowly nodded in agreement.

"Are you willing to accept that though it is not certain, your forfeit may be permanent, and you may never have it back again?" Magnus asked.

A few scared looks were exchanged, but again, the group nodded affirmatively.

"Excellent." He said with a gently, knowing smile. It was almost as if he were hiding something. Ilaya smiled in the same manner. Balthazor simply looked on in contempt.

As if on cue, Ilaya stepped behind a large marble alter and pulled something out from behind it. When she walked forward, the gang saw that she was holding a large crystal orb.

"Please come forward one at a time. State what you will surrender, than place your hand on the orb."

Cordelia stepped forward.

"I give my power." She stepped forward and placed her hand on the orb. A large blue light was pulled from her body and now lay swirling within the orb.

Xander stepped forward.

"I gave my first 'innocence' in a sense to Faith a long time ago, so I will gladly give it up again." He placed his hand on the orb and a white light was pulled from his body, intermingling with the blue in the orb.

Willow stepped forward.

"I give my power." She placed her hand on the orb, and a similar blue light escaped from her as it had with Cordelia.

Spike stepped forward.

"I can't believe I'm doing this soddin' thing. Alright . . . I give up my immortality." He shot a smile at Faith before placing his hand on the orb. A huge red burst of light flew from him and into the orb.

Faith gasped . . . she couldn't believe that he had done that for her. She knew that they shared some things in common . . . but she didn't realize that he had felt so closely bonded to her.

Finally, Angel stepped forward.

Quietly, he stated, "I give the permanence of my soul."

Before he could put his hand on the orb, Faith shouted out. "Angel, no! I can't let you do that. It's finally yours, for good. Pick something else, please." She pleaded with him.

He gently smiled at her.

"Consider it a gift." He stated as he quickly placed his hand on the orb before Faith or anyone else could stop him. A brilliant green light emitted from his body and crossed into the orb.

Ilaya smiled and walked with the orb towards a short marble column. She placed it down gently then returned to stand next to her brethren.

Suddenly, all eyes focused on Buffy.

The blonde slayer turned towards Faith and took both of her hands into her own. She looked down at their enjoined hands, then back up into the brunette's deep brown eyes.

"Faith . . . I don't know what I can give that will mean anything to you. But I'm going to give you something that means something to me. I think it's been yours for longer than I realized, so I guess it's only appropriate that I give it to you formally."

She paused, giving Faith a gentle, loving smile.

"Faith . . . I give you my heart."

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N:** Dum dum DUMMMM! Cliffhanger, yet again. More reviews equal more desire for me to finish this thing already. :)


	22. Aftershocks

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two – Aftershocks

* * *

**"Faith . . . I don't know what I can give that will mean anything to you. But I'm going to give you something that means something to me. I think it's been yours for longer than I realized, so I guess it's only appropriate that I give it to you formally." 

She paused, giving Faith a gentle, loving smile.

"Faith . . . I give you my heart."

* * *

Several wide-eyed, open mouthed people stood watching the two Slayers. 

They were already confused by the fact that as a group, they were so openly and unselfishly willing to give up a part of themselves for Faith. They didn't question why they did it . . . they just knew that they were there to help, they _wanted _to help, and that it just felt like the right thing to doThe _only_ thing to do.

But Buffy's little 'contribution' to Faith had completely shocked them all. Actually, it wasn't really 'shock' as much as 'surprise'. Willow had known about Faith's 'heart thing' for Buffy, but she wasn't aware that the blonde was feeling the exact same thing. Angel and Cordelia had heard Faith's confession of love in the car, and it wasn't had to see over the course of the last few days that Buffy and some sort of feelings as well. After Spike's discussion with Faith, he knew that she loved the older Slayer, and he could also feel the sense of need and caring in Buffy towards the dark Slayer.

Xander, on the other hand, was completely in the dark. He had never been Mr. Perceptive, so he hadn't the vaguest idea of the extent of Buffy and Faith's feelings for one another. He stood there now in his own clueless little world, wondering what Buffy's offering meant exactly.

Faith, for her part, stood there holding both of Buffy's soft hands in her own, trying to contain her emotions. Part of her was ecstatic that the other girl might be feeling the same 'heart thing' that she was feeling. The other part of her was scared at what the implications of Buffy's surrender of her heart might be. She'd love nothing more than to have the love of the other girl, but not because she 'had' to give _something_, and not at the cost of the other girl having to lose something in the meanwhile.

Still, despite her reservations and conflicting thoughts, she couldn't help the small smile that escaped her. She nervously began to swing their interlaced hands, rubbing her thumb across the top of the older girls' hands.

The gang watched as she opened her mouth to say something to Buffy. However, no sound came out. She shook her head a little to regain her senses and tried again, only to have the same results.

Suddenly, she gasped aloud as her body went rigid and began to shake. Buffy caught the girl just as she was about to fall backward, cradling her in her arms as they hit the ground together.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!?" Buffy yelled up at Balthazor, Ilaya, and Magnus as her friends came running over to assist her.

The three robed figures looked at one another in confusion.

"This is not our doing." Magnus explained in an almost scared tone, looking to his brethren.

After a realization, Ilaya spoke up. "It is the curse: it has been broken. An act of love has been displayed here. _Several_ acts of love, in fact. This must be part of the devolution or revocation of the dark magic."

The gang watched nervously as Faith lay there shaking, far from consciousness, but whimpering in pain nonetheless.

"This is wrong . . ." Buffy muttered as she stared intently at the dark Slayer, gently stroking her hair. "Something isn't right here."

As if on cue, a slight trickle of blood ran out of Faith's nose and eyes, leaving trails as they streamed down her face.

"Oh God!" Buffy exclaimed, beginning to sob. "Something's REALLY wrong here. She's dying!" She lifted her gaze from Faith to the robed figures. "You have to help her! We – I can't lose her again!"

The three figures looked back and forth between one another, pained expressions on their faces.

"Child . . . the process has already begun." Ilaya stated sadly. "There is still a void in here where she lacks the part of her soul. The curse must have had some sort of unwritten clause or loophole . . . it looks as if it were meant to self-destruct all along. I'm afraid there is nothing we can do at this point."

Buffy exhaled sharply, tears now falling freely down her face. She looked to her group of friends, expecting them to have some sort of an answer.

Angel understood her look, and he instantly tuned towards the three figures.

"There has to be something we can do. Nothing is ever definite . . . we can stop this. Can't we?"

Magnus stepped forward, a contemplative look on his face. "There may be one solution, but as you said, nothing is definite. Anything could happen. We can try to put something into the void; try to 'short-circuit' the curse before it self-destructs. But we don't have much time. Take advantage while you still can."

"Therein lays a problem." Balthazor stepped forward, suddenly seeming concerned. "Though our powers are great, they take time to work. We won't be able to conjure up a soul in such a short amount of time."

Buffy sighed. She quieted her sobs, then stopped them altogether, a determined look on her face. She calmly lifted her head and looked towards the figures.

"So take a part of mine. I can live with half a soul, Faith can't." She looked down at Faith and a loving smile appeared on her face. "Take mine."

"No Buffy, you can't." Willow stated nervously, putting a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I have to do this, Will. I _have_ to." Buffy replied, laying her hand on top of Willow's.

Willow paused and stared intently at Buffy. It looked as if she were working something out in her head. Suddenly, she burst out, "No, Buff. You can't. It's too risky. We need to find another way."

A moment of silence passed. Xander timidly raised his hand.

"I have a _really_ bad idea." He stated, and all eyes fell on him. "Why don't we all give up a little piece of our soul? Except for Spike, because he doesn't have one. Oh, and except for Angel, because he gave up the whole permanence thing and Angelus is all we need right now to make this day perfect. But, the rest of us: we give a little. It's like putting together a recipe: mix ¼ Xander, ¼ Cordy, ¼ Willow, and ¼ Buffy, mix vigorously and gently pour into Faith. Could that work?"

Everyone turned to face the three robed figures, anxiously awaiting a reply to the semi-crazy idea.

"It could." Magnus answered, intrigued. "Would you all be willing to make that sacrifice for her, knowing that it could very well be a lost cause?"

There was an awkward pause.

"Is it gonna hurt?" Cordelia asked.

Magnus chuckled. "Not if we do it right."

The four Scoobies involved made eye contact and came upon a silent agreement, nodding their heads affirmatively.

"Fine then, let's do it. Just get it right!" Cordelia stated flatly.

* * *

Ilaya stepped down from the marble platform and neared the group. 

"Quickly. Those who are involved, gather around Faith. Lay your hands on her and close your eyes. Make sure they remained shut until we say . . . the magic we use is strong, and your entire soul may try to escape if given the opportunity."

Xander, Willow, Cordelia, and Buffy all took a step closer to Faith and lay their hands on her, closing their eyes. Spike and Angel stepped back, observing from a safe distance.

"Any last remnants of doubt?" Ilaya asked. No one responded, so she inferred that they were ready to being.

Balthazor and Magnus joined their sister among the others. The three of them joined hands and began to chant, focusing all of their energies upon the group before them. After about a minute or so of chanting, a bright golden light began to emit from within Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia. They gasped slightly as the light escaped from their mouths and hovered just in front of them. They didn't need to open their eyes to see it . . . the brilliance of the color could be felt through closed eyes.

The three figures began a new chant as the four golden light sources hovered in the air. Suddenly, the four lights converged into one and it began to erratically fly around the room. Angel and Spike ducked at it charged at them, narrowly avoiding being hit by it.

"Bloody hell!" Spike yelled, trying to regain his bearings. He watched the golden light fly around the room and he yelled at it, "Not me you sodding poor excuse for a light bulb! The girl! Go into the girl!"

Just as the light began to head back in Faith's direction, it made a quick turn and crashed into Spike, going directly through him before taking off in yet another direction. It jolted him enough so that he stumbled forward, losing his balance.

Angel tried to stop Spike's fall, but it was too late. The blonde vampire crashed into the small marble pillar, knocking it over along with the glass orb that held their surrenders. He reached out to grab to orb before it hit the ground, but he wasn't quick enough. The glass orb shattered into a million pieces, scattering the multi-colored array of lights into the surrounding air.

"Oh bollocks." Spike muttered, not moving to get up from his place on the ground. The three figures looked at him annoyed, but continued their chanting.

In a weird twist of events, the colored lights from the orb suddenly began to merge with the golden 'soul' light. The newly combined light began to whip around the room even more erratically, whipping through each and every person before finally slamming into Faith.

The three figures ceased their chanting, and calm returned to the room.

"You may open your eyes." Ilaya stated.

The four Scoobies opened their eyes and anxiously looked down at Faith. She lay their limp, no longer whimpering nor doing much of anything.

"Did . . . did it work?" Buffy asked timidly, not taking her eyes off of Faith.

"That is yet to be revealed, child." Magnus stated coyly. "We know not of what will happen once you return to your time and place."

Spike stood up awkwardly. "Uh, yeah. I'm sorry about the orb-y thing. But you should've bleedin' warned me about that!" He said, trying to defend himself.

Magnus chuckled. "Yes, I suppose we should have. Of course, there may be some unexpected consequences now. Only time will reveal. On that, our work is done here. We have done all that we can do for you." He, along with Ilaya and Balthazor, mounted the marble throne one last time. "This tribunal is therefore concluded. Go in peace, and take care of one another, for your destinies are now tied together."

Magnus and Ilaya gave warm smiles and Balthazor just looked on indifferently before they faded out into nothing.

The group of friends sat there only for a moment before being tugged out of the marble hall and back into the Summers' living room.

* * *

Buffy sat up with a start. She immediately looked down to see that she and Faith were still holding hands. The simple gesture brought a smile to her face. She noticed that everyone was slowly beginning to get up from their spots along the circle, still a little dazed, but fine nonetheless. 

However, her smile faded when she looked down to greet Faith and found that the girl was not waking from the ritual. Her eyes remained closed; blood-red stains on her cheeks and under her nose.

"Faith?" Buffy asked, placing her free hand on the brunette's shoulder and giving her a little shake.

No response.

"Faith?" She asked a little louder, shaking Faith's shoulder more vigorously.

Again, no response.

Buffy immediately looked up towards Giles and those who had stayed behind as anchors.

"Did anything happen to her while we were 'gone'? Has she been like this, so unresponsive, the whole time?" She asked nervously.

Giles frowned, choosing his words. "The entire lot of you were unresponsive. However, as you all remained motionless, she started taking ragged breaths and whimpered a bit. We thought the worse when we say the blood from her eyes and nose again. Just before you all returned, her breathing became shallow and she quieted. There was nothing we could do . . . we had to stay where we—"

"It's okay, Giles, I know." Buffy stated understandingly. She turned back towards Faith, and the room fell incredibly silent.

Buffy re-positioned herself so that she was kneeling next to the brunette, slightly hovering over her. In a gentle and loving gesture, she took Faith's hand in her own again and began to run her other free hand through the girls' dark tresses. She began to speak in a tone just above a whisper.

"Faith? Faith, baby? Listen to my voice. Don't give up. You can't. You're so close to coming home." A tear fell from her eyes and ran down her face. "They fixed you, Faith. _We_ fixed you. It was a close call, but we came together and we _fought_. For you. We did it for _you, _Faith. So you need to wake up, and you need to open your eyes."

The brunette lay there, motionless.

Buffy seemed to lose her cool just a little. Her emotions began to run over, beginning to cry just a little harder.

"Dammit, Faith, wake up! Open your eyes!" Her words were louder and somewhat strangled as she choked back the sobs that were trying to break forth. "You can't die! I – _we_ gave up pieces of ourselves for you. I know you're not dead yet, because if you were, I would feel that little piece of me die too. And trust me . . . if you die, a part of me will die to. You can't leave me, Faith. We finally just found each other."

The others in the room remained completely silent. Willow turned into Tara's embrace, silent tears running down her face. Angel held Cordelia, who had also begun to shed tears at witnessing the exchange between the two Slayers. A few others sniffled, definitely feeling the pain that Buffy was going through.

Buffy paused for a moment, waiting to see if her words were having any response on the girl. Still, nothing. She made a noise; sort of a half-chuckle, half-sob.

"God, Faith. I know you're still in there somewhere. Just open your eyes. There is no more void; there is no more places for the darkness to trap you. Let me be your light. Just . . . open your eyes and see me. You have to get through this, because if you don't, I don't know if _I'll_ be able to get through this. This moment. This day. This year. This _life_."

She paused, trying to figure out what to say that the girl in front of her needed to hear. Suddenly, it became perfectly clear to her. It was _all_ becoming clear to her. She smiled through her tears and moved her hands to cup Faith's face.

"I need you, Faith." She leaned in so that she was just an inch away from the girls' face, and she whispered, "I love you." She smiled whole-heartedly before closing the remaining distance and placing a loving kiss on the girls' lips.

It was all clear to her now. She didn't care what her friends thought. She didn't care what _anyone_ thought. She had always felt inexplicably close to Faith, but she never understood why. Now, she knew. They were two sides of the same coin. Their Slayer-bond made them cosmic soul-mates, and now, Buffy's 'soul' contribution made them actual soul-mates. And she loved her. It was that simple.

The entire group watched on in amazement. They thought that they should have felt shock or surprise or even anger at Buffy's admission. But they didn't. They only felt the warmth and love that Buffy was pouring into the other girl, and that was enough to stave off any other feeling in the room.

Suddenly, the group gasped collectively as they saw Faith's eyelids begin to flutter.

Buffy immediately sat back, watching intently as the brunette finally began to open her eyes. Upon seeing the chocolate-brown eyes gazing up at her, she finally let her emotion get the best of her.

She began to cry for joy with a big smile on her face. She leaned in and gave Faith a long, passionate kiss, so overwhelmed by her emotions and feelings for the other girl.

When she finally pulled back, she saw a smirking Faith looking back at her.

"Mmm. That was kinda nice, B. I wake up and you're goin' all 'Romeo' on me, and with an audience no less." Faith joked, her voice a little hoarse.

Buffy laughed, but suddenly stopped and put on her best version of Willow's 'resolve face'.

"Don't you EVER do anything like that to me again! I thought you were dead! I thought you left me again!" Buffy said in her best stern voice, but she couldn't contain the smile that was itching to get out.

Faith's smirk turned into a genuine loving smile. She laid her hands on Buffy's, which were still cupping her face. "Nahh, B. I'm not going anywhere. I'll never leave ya . . . that is, unless you want me to."

Buffy scoffed. "I don't think so. I'm not letting you out of my site any time soon! Besides . . . you _owe_ me. And Willow. And Cordy. And Xander. Oh! And let's not forget Spike and Angel. It seems that you've got a little bit us all of us in you now. Entangled destinies, according to the tribunal. Guess that means you're stuck with us for good." She stated with a smile.

Faith beamed. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She pulled Buffy down to her for another passionate kiss, the two girls completely ignoring the cheering and whooping from within the room.

"I love you." Faith whispered against Buffy's mouth, just barely loud enough for the other girl to her.

Buffy smiled into the kiss. "I love you, too." She said just as softly.

* * *

After about an hour, the buzz in the room had slowly began to die down. 

Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia were already planning on leaving for LA a little later that evening. They figured that things needed to get back to normal around Sunnydale, and that they were needed in LA.

The entire group now lay sluggishly around the living room, enjoying the last of one another's company.

Those that had gone before the tribunal began to talk about what they had given up and about the events that had gone on there in general.

"I can't believe I gave up my power for you." Willow said jokingly to Faith.

Faith laughed. "Yeah, well, I can't believe you did either, Red." She playfully tossed a pillow at the red-head.

The entire gang jumped back in shock when Willow put out her hand to block the pillow and it stopped dead in mid-air.

"What the hell?" Faith asked, quickly sitting forward to examine the situation. "I thought you said you gave up your power, Red. You holdin' back on us?"

Willow looked confused.

"No . . . I DID give up my powers. What . . . what's going on?" She responded blankly.

Tara sat forward and looked intently at Willow as if she were trying to read her. Then she turned and looked among the other '5 sources' who had also given up something. A smile appeared on her face.

"D-did something happen to the container that held your surrenders?" Tara asked shyly.

Spiked shifted uncomfortably. "Yeh . . . well, the bleedin' thing shattered, but it wasn't my fault! There was a golden light-ball chasing after me, and I tripped and fell. It just tipped right on over."

Tara giggled at the realization.

"You guys didn't lose your surrenders. They returned to you, but . . . new and improved. They had intermingled with one another, so, you got back what you surrendered, along with a little bit of what everyone else surrendered."

The five sources all looked on a little excitedly, happy that they perhaps didn't lose any part of themselves.

Giles stood up.

"Might I ask what you all chose to forfeit?"

Willow answered for the group.

"Well, me and Cordy gave up our power, Xander gave up his innocence, Spike gave up his immortality, and Angel gave up the permanence of his soul."

"WHOA!" Xander yelled. "Does that mean that we're all immortal now?" He asked excitedly.

"I rather think not." Giles answered. "We'll have to look further into it. Did anything else interesting happen?"

Spike answered. "Yeh, well, the golden 'soul' light mixed with our surrenders, and they zinged through all of us before jumpin' into the rogue over there." He pointed towards Faith.

Tara's eyes got wide, and she smiled. "Wait . . . are you saying that the 'soul' light passed through each and every one of you?"

Spike nodded mockingly.

Tara laughed. "Well, that w-would make you all soul-mates, then."

Spike scoffed. "'Cept for me, love. Can't be a soul-mate without a soul. No soul here, case dismissed." A triumphant look came across his face.

Tara smiled sweetly at the blonde vampire. "No, you're wrong, Spike."

"Hey, Glenda, I think I know what I'm talking 'bout here. No soul equals no soul-mate. It's not that hard to figure out. 'Sides . . . there's no way that I'd ever be Peaches' soul-mate." He cast a disgruntled glance towards Angel, earning one in return.

Tara smiled again. "No, Spike, you're right about that part."

"Then what are you bloody goin' on about, pet?" He asked impatiently.

Now, it was Tara's turn to put on the triumphant face.

"Case _not_ dismissed. You have a soul, Spike. Or, at least you do now." She said matter-of-factly.

Spike was about to speak, but he paused and took a deep breath, holding it in. He stayed still for a moment before muttering, "Oh, bloody hell."

* * *

**TBC**

**A/N: **Ahh, then end is soooooo near. Please read and review. Thanks! :)


	23. Saying Goodbye

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**A/N:** Okay, here it is kids. The last official chapter. There will be an epilogue to follow, and I'll tie up all the loose ends. Let me know what you think. :)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three -- Saying Goodbye**

* * *

"Case _not_ dismissed. You have a soul, Spike. Or, at least you do now." She said matter-of-factly.

Spike blinked hard, paused, then scoffed. "What? That's bloody ridiculous, I . . . it's not . . . I . . ." he paused again, cocking his head to the side as he drew in and held a deep breath, finally conceding, "Oh, bloody hell."

* * *

The entire gang huddled around the still unconscious Spike minutes after he had passed out from the shock of the 'soul' revelation.

"Maybe someone should slap him, see if he'll wake up." Xander said cheerily.

"Don't even think about it." Faith replied, hiding her smiled. "Spike's my bud now. He helped me when he didn't have to, and besides, you shouldn't talk about your _soul-mate_ that way, Xan."

Xander pouted and mumbled under his breath, "He is _so_ not my soul-mate."

As if on cue, Spike began to come around. Faith stepped next to him and sat him up. He shook his head to regain some clarity.

"Whoa . . . I had the strangest bloody dream." He looked up at the faces staring down at him. "You were there . . . and you were there . . . and you . . ." he looked up to see the grinning face of Angel, ". . . oh, bloody hell, it wasn't a dream, was it?"

"Welcome to the World of Broodyness, Population: 2." Angel said with a toothy grin.

"I – I can't breathe . . ." Spike said, gasping.

"Well, it's probably a good thing that you don't _have_ to breathe then, isn't it?" Buffy asked, looping her arm through his and helping him to his feet. "All you need is some room to move and some fresh air. In fact, I think we can all use some. Come on everyone, let's take a short trip outside."

The entire group excitedly made their way towards the back door with the exception of Angel, who grabbed Faith's arm and asked her to speak with him in private.

After everyone else had vacated the house, Faith turned to Angel and gave him a big smile. He held out his arms to her and she walked into them, joining him in a warm embrace.

"Angel . . . I have so much to thank you for." She said with her face against his chest. "If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be six feet under by now. No one in my life ever thought I was worth helping, including myself. But even when I tried to push ya away, ya kept getting' right up in my face, and I really appreciate that now."

Angel smiled, pulling her closer while lightly stroking her hair.

"You're worth it, Faith. Don't let anyone else tell you differently. I always saw something special in you, even when you were 'bad'. Now, you're pretty much a whole new person, and a whole new path lies before you." He paused. "That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about." He said with a bit of apprehension in his voice.

Faith noticed the change in his tone and immediately looked up to meet his gaze.

"What's up?" She asked, stepping away form him and plopping down onto the couch.

Angel began to speak in a gentle manner. "Faith . . . you have a whole new life ahead of you now. You're not the same person that you were two years ago. You're not even the same person that you were yesterday. You're still Faith, but you've got a little of the rest of us in you now, and that alone is enough to change your destiny. As a Slayer, that may have some big implications for you down the road."

Faith nodded. "Yeah, I realize that. But, what can I do about it? Everything's an unknown right now. I don't know anyone who can tell me what my destiny is, Angel."

"I do." He stated plainly.

"So . . . what exactly do ya want me to do?" Faith asked as she sat forward, bracing herself for the answer.

"I think you should come back to LA with me."

"No fuckin way." Faith answered quickly. "I told B I wasn't runnin' away this time and I'm not gonna. Just 'cuz the future is uncertain doesn't mean that I'm gonna take off, big guy."

Angel sighed. "It's not running, Faith, and it's not permanent either. There's this guy back in LA, the Host. He can look into people and read their destinies. I think it would be a good thing for you to meet with him, maybe get a heads up as to where your path is going to lead."

Faith slumped back onto the couch.

"Man, I hate it when you're right, Soul-Boy. It's not a totally bad idea, I'll give ya that much. But how . . . what am I gonna say to Buffy? She's gonna think that I'm runnin'

scared again, and I just had this big-ass breakthrough with her. I don't wanna mess it up." She said sadly.

Angel squatted down next to her and put a comforting hand on her knee.

"I think she's past the whole 'hating you' thing, Faith. We all heard it plain and clear: the girl loves you. I'll talk to her . . . explain why I think you need to go and that it's only for a few days, maybe a week at most. If you leave with us tonight, you can be back by weeks end."

Faith sighed, defeated. "Guess I should go pack then." She got up and headed towards the staircase.

"Guess so. And Faith . . . I have this weird feeling that everything's going to work out fine; that things are gonna start looking up for the two of us."

Faith smiled weakly. "I hope you're right, Angel. I really do."

* * *

At that point, the rest of the gang began to slowly filter back into the back door.

"How's little Spikey?" Angel asked as Dawn came bounding back into the room and plopped down on the couch.

"He's totally freaking out. I told him that he should calm down before he bursts a blood vessel or something. I think that he headed off to Willy's to get tanked."

Angel smiled. "Is your sister still outside?"

Dawn looked at him and raised and eyebrow. "Yeah, she is. But if you're going out there to 'rekindle the flame', I'd give it up. Faith will _so_ kick you in the head."

Angel laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it, Dawnie." He mussed up her hair as he headed out onto the back porch where he found Buffy sitting alone, a slight smile on her face.

"Hey." He said, taking a seat next to her on the porch step.

"Hey." She smiled, leaning against him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"What's with the dreamy smiles?" He asked, poking her in the ribs a few times, finally settling his hand on her lower back and rubbing small circles on it.

"I'm just . . . _happy_." Buffy replied, her smile getting even bigger. "I felt so empty for so long, even with my friends and family here. Faith and me being Slayers at the same time is an anomaly. I think that we're _meant_ to be together because our beings basically share the same essence. Now she's here, and she's staying, and I just feel . . . warm. Happy. Complete." She paused and lowered her voice just a tad. "When my mom died, I thought things were never going to look up again. But I'm starting to think differently about that right now."

Angel's hand that was on Buffy's back stopped moving as he tensed up, knowing that he was about to deliver some upsetting news to her.

"Listen, Buffy . . . there's something I need to tell you. You're not gonna like it, but I think it's for the best."

Buffy slowly lifted her head off of his shoulder and turned to face him, a questioning look on her face.

"What?" She asked, a hint of dread in her voice.

"I . . . I asked Faith to come back to LA with me, and she agreed."

Buffy immediately stood up, stepping away from Angel as if he had scorched her.

"What?!?" She asked through clenched teeth, tears forming in her eyes.

"Faith is going to come back with us tonight to LA, and she's going to . . ."

"NO!" Buffy interrupted, stepping dangerously close to him. "She's staying right here, with me. She's still weak, and I can protect her."

"It's for her own good, Buffy. With all that happened today, her destiny has to have changed. As a Slayer, she needs to know what direction her path is leading her in." He watched as Buffy seemed to calm down a little at his explanation, and he continued. "There's a demon in LA that can read peoples destinies. She'll only be gone a few days, I promise."

Buffy rolled the words around in her head, taking in everything that Angel had explained.

"Fine. But I'm coming too." She tried to walk past Angel to the door, but he grabbed onto her arm and stopped her.

"No, you're not." He stated flatly.

"_Yes_, I am." She stated with force, getting up in his face.

Angel sighed. "Come on, Buffy, don't do this. You can't leave too, the Hellmouth needs you."

"Faith needs me." Buffy answered quickly, instantly making Angel upset.

"Dammit, Buffy, you need to stop acting like a child. You're just afraid that you need Faith more than she needs you." He looked down at the angry blonde with an annoyed look on his face.

Buffy's anger subsided and was replaced by a look of defeat, like she was about to cry again.

Angel sighed again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." He took a step towards her, but she stepped back.

She looked up at him through teary eyes and began to speak quietly.

"You're right. Maybe I do need her more than she needs me." She paused for a few moments. "Okay, Angel. You win. Take her to LA. Just make sure she gets back to me safe and sound."

She began to walk towards the door but stopped when she heard Angel's voice again.

"Everything gonna be fine, Buffy. Give her a few days to do this and then . . . you have the rest of your life to spend with her."

Buffy nodded, shooting him a half-smile before walking into the house and closing the door behind her.

She walked past her friends who immediately quieted down and stared as they watched her somberly cross the room and head up the stairs towards her bedroom. She didn't need to ask where Faith was . . . she could feel her pain from a mile away.

* * *

Buffy stood at the open door to her room, quietly observing Faith shove random articles of clothing into a small duffel bag. It reminded her all too much of the night she had found Faith frantically packing after finding out that Kakistos was in Sunnydale.

"I think we've already deja'd this vu." Buffy said quietly, brown and green eyes meeting suddenly from across the room.

Neither girl knew quite what to say or do. Faith sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her, indicating it to Buffy. The blonde crossed the room, sat down next to Faith and faced the girl, their hands instantly intertwining.

"I'm not runnin', B." Faith said with a scared look on her face.

Buffy weakly smiled, bringing one of her hands up to cup Faith's face. "I know. I just . . . I hate the fact that I finally got the real you back, and now you have to leave." She broke eye contact with Faith and looked down into her own lap, hesitating for a moment. "Angel said that I'm afraid that I need you more that you need me, and I think he's right."

"No," Faith jumped right in, placing a finger under Buffy's chin and making her look up, "that's not true, B. I've always needed you. After these last few days of being so close, I don't know how I'm gonna last the next week without ya. I'll always need you, Buffy. More so than you'll ever know."

Buffy relaxed a little, and a small grin snuck up on her face. "You _need_ me? Are we talking about a sex thing, Faithy?" Buffy teased, recalling her similar words from the night before.

Faith grinned. "Well, I'm definitely not gonna rule it out." She leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the blonde's lips before pulling back. "Listen, I think we got a hella lot to talk about and work out when I get back. I promise ya, I'm gonna be back as quick as lightnin'. It's strictly a business trip, no sightseeing involved. So . . ."

"So . . ." Buffy repeated.

They smiled at one another.

"So . . . I guess I better be goin' than." Faith finished, standing up from the bed.

"I guess so." Buffy said sadly. "But before you go, let me just remind you of the surrender that I gave to you: my heart. I just want you to know that a piece of me will be missing as long as you're away from me. I'll only be whole when you're back in Sunnydale, in this house, in my arms . . . when you're _home_.

Faith loved the way that sounded . . . _home_. She hadn't known the feeling for so long. She wanted to tell Buffy how happy she was and all that she was feeling, but she couldn't find the right words.

"Umm, B . . . Buffy, there's something I wanna say, but I'm not really 'Word Girl'. I'm really more of an 'Action Girl', so I'm just gonna get right down to it."

"Okayyyyyy." Buffy replied, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Before she knew what was happening, she felt Faith's mouth on hers and she instantly parted her lips, granting her tongue entry. They kissed deeply, both wanting to burn the feeling of their 'last kiss' into their memories.

After a minute or so had passed the two Slayers finally broke apart panting, foreheads pressed together.

"I have to say, Buffy said breathlessly, "I like the way you said that." She giggled.

Faith smiled. "Love ya, B.

Buffy pulled her close and planted another quick kiss on her lips before relaxing into the brunette's embrace. "Love ya too, 'F'."

Faith picked up her small duffle bag and the two girls made their way downstairs to say their goodbyes with the rest of the group.

After a few tears and many more laughs, The 'LA Gang' and Faith headed off to LA. While Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley were anxious to get there so they could get back to their own lives and normal routines, Faith was anxious to get there so she could get her business done and head back to Sunnydale to start her whole _new_ life.

That very thought put a smile on her face. Never in her past would she have _ever_ considered Sunnydale, Buffy, and the Scoobies to be a part of her happy future, but there they were, and she was unbelievably happy. She was almost waiting for the bottom to fall out at any time, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind, choosing to focus on the goof in her life for once.

* * *

After about a two-hour drive, the four friends arrived at Angel Investigations in LA.

Angel had a lot of work to catch up on, so he immediately shut himself up in his office to get to work. Wesley headed home, yearning for his own bed after the few exciting days that they had spent together. Cordelia decided to putter around the office for a while, randomly filing papers and writing messages on sticky-notes.

Faith had decided to go up to bed but found that she was too excited to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about getting back to Sunnydale and starting her new life.

She wandered out of her room and down to the lobby of the hotel, plopping down on the chair behind the counter. She thumbed through some of the documents that lay scattered around, amusing herself in any way that she could.

"Hey!" Cordelia yelled, causing Faith to jump. "If you're sitting in my chair and looking through my paperwork, then you better plan on doing some work, missy."

Faith laughed. "No way, Cor. I'm on vacation." She smiled sweetly, showing off her dimples.

"Fine, fine. I see how it is. I give you a piece of my soul and you won't even do a little bit of menial office work for me. That's okay, I see how I rank to you." She said in a playful tone.

"Aww, C. You know ya mean more than that to me. Of course I'll help, just tell me what ya want me to do." Faith replied, putting on her business face.

Cordelia laughed. "I'm only joking, Faith, take a pill or something. But . . . I do like the fact that I can hold that whole 'soul' thing over your head now whenever I need something."

Faith shrugged, getting serious. "Yeah, but ya earned that right, Cor, so it's all five by five. You went above and beyond, and I really appreciate that. You had no reason to trust me . . . but ya did. I owe ya a lot more than a little bit of slave labor. You name it, I'll do it."

A mischievous look crept up of Cordelia's face. "Okay, Faith, I have a request."

Faith smiled. "Name it, C."

"Fill me in on the big enigma. What the hell is 'five by five'?"

"That's what you want from me?" Faith asked with a smirk and Cordelia nodded anxiously. "Okay, I'll fill ya in on the mystery. It's a code that radio operators use, like Paramedics and EMT's and people like that. It's a scale of 1 through 5 based on volume and clarity. If everything is loud and clear, you say '5 by 5'. If it's quiet and crackly, you say '1 by 3' or '2 by 2' or whatever. So when I say that I'm 'five by five', I mean that I'm all good."

She stood up and grabbed her leather jacket, stopping for a moment to put it on.

Cordelia stared at her with her mouth wide open.

"That's it?" She asked incredulously. "_That's_ what I've been waiting almost three years to hear? I'm highly disappointed, Faith. I'm gonna need something else. Come on, give it up, sister."

Faith laughed. "Alright . . . umm . . . I sleep naked, so stay outta my room tonight unless you want an eyeful." She walked towards the door, about to make her way outside.

"Wait . . . where are you going, Miss Impatient? Buffy's gonna kick your ass and possibly mine too if you get hurt." Cordelia yelled from behind the desk.

"My ass can handle it. Besides, it's midnight, Cor. The Slayer in me is itchin' to come out and play. Tell Angel I'll catch up with him later."

"Faaaaaaaaith . . . what are you up to? You're up to something. Your left eyebrow just twitched."

Faith stopped her motion out of the door and turned around slightly to stick her head back in. She shot Cordelia big smile and blew her a kiss before heading out the door once again.

Cordelia went back to her work, mumbling under her breath, "That girl's definitely up to something. She's crazy if you ask me. And what's with the over-share about sleeping naked? I definitely need to find some new female friends around here."

* * *

About three or four hours had passed and Cordelia was still at the office. She also felt like she had too much energy to sleep, plus she didn't want to disturb Angel for a ride home, so she decided to get some much needed work done at the office. If she got tired, she could just wander upstairs and pick one of many rooms to crash in for the remainder of the night.

About an hour before dawn, Angel made his way out of his office, surprised to see Cordelia still at the office.

"Hey Cordy, what are you still doing here?" He asked with a smile.

"Collecting over-time." She said sarcastically. "I was kinda wired, plus, I didn't want to bother you for a ride and I didn't want to walk alone."

Angel frowned slightly. "Cordy, I would've given you a ride. That, or Faith could've walked you. She can handle herself."

"Yeah, well, little Miss Faith left for patrol and hasn't come back yet. Guess it must've been a busy patrol." She said nonchalantly.

Angel furrowed his eyebrows. "That's not like Faith to go without telling me. Oh well." He shrugged. "Come on, I'll take you home while it's still dark. You can have the day off, catch up on your sleep and your housework."

Cordelia smiled cheerfully.

Angel walked across the office and walked to the counter, moving the papers around as if looking for something.

"Hey, Cordy, have you seen my car keys?" He asked, rummaging through the papers.

"They're on the coun . . ." she trailed off as she turned to face him, realization hitting her, ". . .ter. Angel, I don't think you're gonna find your car keys there." Cordelia said, trying to hide her smile.

Angel turned to face her, a questioning look on his face. "Well . . . would you _mind _telling me where they might be, Cordy?"

She laughed. "Probably in Faith's back pocket. She asked me to tell you that she'll 'catch up with you later'."

Angel furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out what was going on. Then, it finally hit him. He smiled. "We're so blind."

Cordelia laughed. "Let me guess . . . you probably told her where to find the Host, but said we could go another day, right?" Angel nodded, and Cordelia laughed again. "Yep. Completely and utterly blind."

* * *

_Back in Sunnydale later that morning_ . . .

Buffy lay in bed awake, having not been able to sleep much that night. She had spent the prior few nights nestled up against her sister-Slayer, and now she just felt cold lying in her bed alone all night.

She had seriously considered getting in her car and driving to LA to be with Faith, but she knew that would draw a negative reaction from mostly everyone around her.

Just as she was about to give up on sleeping and get up out of bed, her bedside phone rang. She glanced at her alarm clock.

'_6:30? Who would be calling here at 6:30?'_

She leaned over and picked up her phone.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, B. Miss me yet?"_

"Faith?" She asked excitedly. "Of course I miss you. I missed you the minute you stepped out of this house."

"_That's nice to hear, B. I'm glad you answered. Ya don't sound like you were sleepin'."_

"No, I wasn't. Guess I kinda got used to having you next to me. Couldn't really fall asleep last night, so here I lay. What about you . . . why are you up so early?"

"_I never went to bed yet."_

"What? Why not? Are you okay? You don't have to be afraid of the nightmares anymore, you're all better now, baby."

"_Aww . . . I'm your baby, B?"_

"Yeah, you are." Buffy smiled.

"_Good to know. So, yeah, I couldn't sleep, had lots of things on my mind. Decided to take care of some things. I went out to patrol . . ."_

Faith continued talking, but Buffy couldn't hear the words because an ambulance with its loud siren on passed by her house, blocking out the words.

"Faith, I can't hear you, there's an ambulance . . ." Buffy's voice trailed off.

Even through the sound of the siren, she could still pick up a distinctive sound on the other end of the phone. She heard the sound of a siren echoing by.

Buffy immediately sprang up from her bed and ran to the window. She looked down into her front yard and dropped the phone when she saw Faith staring up at her with a huge grin on her face, a cellular phone in one hand and a single red rose in the other.

Without another word, Buffy ran across her room and went bounding down the stairs, bursting out of the door and into Faith's waiting arms.

Faith lifted Buffy off of the ground and spun her around a few times, both girls laughing the entire time. Finally, Faith stopped spinning and let Buffy's feet hit the ground. They instantly began to kiss one another, happy to be in one another's arms again.

They laughed and kissed for a few minutes before being interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They looked up to see Dawn hanging out of her bedroom window and Willow and Tara hanging out of another window, all smiling.

"Yeesh. Get a room." Dawn said with a big smile before pulling her window back down. Willow and Tara just smiled down at the two Slayers before following suit.

Faith looked down at Buffy.

"So . . . about that room . . ." She said, waggling her eyebrows.

Buffy smacked her upper arm.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't believe you're here. You have to tell me everything that happened, and . . ." she looked over Faith's shoulder and saw Angel's car there but no Angel, ". . . does Angel know that you have his car?"

Faith smirked. "It's kinda a long story. Let's go inside, baby."

Buffy smiled a 1000-watt smile. "Okay, baby."

* * *

**TBC **in an Epilogue

**A/N2:** How do you guys feel about a sequel? Interested? Uninterested? Couldn't care less? Let me know either via email or review. Thanks! :)


	24. The End and The Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** All characters, etc, belong to Joss, M.E., Fox, and whoever else. I just needed to borrow them for awhile. No harm or copyright infringement intended.

**A/N:** And the end is finally here. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story. Your reviews and kind words were what kept me writing. I hope to start a sequel some time in the future, so keep an eye out for it. It will probably be called something along the lines of "Into the Void: Even Deeper" or something cheesy like that.

Anyways, thanks again! You guys rock!

* * *

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**  
Chapter Twenty-Four -- The End & The Epilogue**

Buffy and Faith stood in a tight embrace in the kitchen, both enjoying the slight tingling sensation that they were feeling from their Slayer bond. They had been like that for about ten minutes, just holding on to one another in complete silence.

Finally, Buffy decided to break the silence.

"So . . . fill me in on the missing details. You got in Angel's car yesterday and headed back to LA with them. Then . . . you're turn." Buffy said, still tight in Faith's embrace with her head against her shoulder.

"Then . . ." Faith began, "I realized how much I missed bein' here and that I wanted to get things done there as fast as possible. I asked Angel if we could go see the Host right away, but he shot me down . . . he said it was kinda late, and I said that was kinda bullshit, but he won out . . . just not before he told me the name of the Host's club."

"Wait . . . the Host's club?" Buffy interrupted. "What kind of club?" She asked, pulling back from Faith just enough to give her a questioning look.

Faith smiled, her cheeks blushing just a bit.

"Umm . . . it's a karaoke club. The only way the Host can read you is when you open up your soul, and that just happens to be when you're singin'."

Buffy tried to hide her smile. "Did Faith sing a little song?" Buffy asked teasingly.

Faith lowered her hand and smacked Buffy's butt, making the blonde jump.

"Yeah, I did, and we're never gonna bring it up again, 'kay?"

Buffy smiled. "'Kay. So . . . you sang a little tune, then what?"

"Then . . ." Faith's smile faded just a little bit, ". . . then he pulled me over and filled me in on the what and the when."

Buffy noticed Faith's smile fade and could tell right away that the news probably wasn't the best. She laid her head back on the brunette's shoulder and wrapper her arms around the girl, offering her as much comfort as she could.

"What did he tell you?" She asked quietly.

Instantly, Faith's mind began to get flashes of everything that the host had told her: how they would be hunted by a Demon-God in search of a Mystical Key, that key being Dawn; how Buffy would perish in the battle; how her friends would bring her back into the dark world from a much happier place; and how a bid bad evil would try to open the Hellmouth and unleash hell on Earth once again.

But then the Host had told Faith something else: he told her that she herself was the key to stopping all of that from happening. When the group had performed the ritual to save Faith, they had no idea that they had saved themselves as well, for when they gave up pieces of themselves, the pieces were absorbed by Faith as well as by each other.

She now held the heart of a warrior, the power of a witch and the power of a link to the Powers-that-Be, the innocence of an ordinary man, the strength of soul. The Host had also told her that she didn't gain immortality from Spike's surrender, but she had gained another gift from that very same surrender that she would find out later down the road.

Point and fact: she was bigger and badder than any Slayer before her. A power lay within her that she couldn't yet comprehend.

She also learned that those who served as the five sources had also absorbed small amounts of one another's surrenders, and that they would be able to harness their new-found powers in their upcoming battles.

The Host had informed Faith that the path that lay in front of her was sure to be rocky and treacherous, but that if she stayed true to her calling and to her heart, the world might live to see a brighter day.

Faith's mind sorted through all of the information that he had given her, trying to put together bits and pieces that she could tell to Buffy without scaring or upsetting the girl. She decided to use the vague approach.

"Well, B, he told me that things are gonna be fine, I just have to keep workin' hard at stayin' on the right path. There's gonna be some tough times in the future, but I've got a good 'heads-up' on the what and the when, so I think I'll be able to make things better." '_Or at least I hope I can' _she thought.

"Anything I should be concerned about?" Buffy asked nervously.

Faith squeezed her harder, deeply breathing in her scent.

"Not at this moment, not on this day. Right now, all we have to worry about is getting our lives back on track after the last few days, and possibly about what you're gonna make me for breakfast."

Buffy chuckled against her.

"You want to eat 'Buffy' food? You _are_ aware that I can't cook to save my life, right?"

Faith laughed. "Nahh, I didn't know that B. Thanks for the warnin'. Guess I got lots to get to know about ya."

"Well, we've got nothing but time to do that now, right?" Buffy asked cheerfully.

Faith tried to copy Buffy's cheer, but the Host's words that 'Buffy will perish' kept ringing through her head and she couldn't help but think that they _didn't_ have much time to be happy before things started getting bad.

"Yeah, lots of time." Faith said flatly, trying to sound cheerful but failing. "Hey, speaking of time, I better call Angel and apologize. He probably still thinks I'm out patrolling or something."

With that, she placed a kiss on Buffy's forehead and walked across the room to use the telephone.

Just as she was about to pick the phone up to dial, it rang. She glanced over at Buffy with her eyebrows raised, and the blonde just nodded at her. Casually, she picked up the phone while Buffy stood nearby and listened on.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Faith. How's Buffy? Oh, and how's the weather in Sunnydale?"_

The sarcastic voice of Cordelia rang across from the other end, instantly making Faith smile.

"Good on both of those counts, Cor. Umm . . . sorry I took off like that. I never was one for sittin' and waitin'. Is Angel pissed?"

"_He got over the car thing, but when he found out that you went to see the Host and Warden Drake without him in the middle of the night, he was kinda . . . grrr and argh."_

"Shit. How'd he find out?"

"_Through his enhanced vampire hearing. The phone rang, he heard it, answered it, and had a lovely little conversation with Warden Drake who filled him in on your little midnight rendezvous."_

"Ha-ha, Cor. So . . . is he there? Can I talk to him?"

"_Yeah, hang on . . . . ANGEL!!!!" "Hello?"_

"Hey, Angel. So . . . are ya gonna try to kick my ass next time I see ya?"

"_I'll let it go this time. I shouldn't have made you wait, I know how impatient you are. I should've seen it coming. So, you talked to the Host?"_

"Yeah."

"_I'm not gonna ask you what he said, Faith, because it's meant for you. You can tell me only if you want to."_

"Thanks. Maybe another time, yeah?" She didn't want to get into the details with Buffy so close by. "Umm, I talked to Drake too. I still had some questions after the Host read me, so I figured that Drake might've been able to fill me in on the blanks."

"_And did he?"_

"Yeah. As far as what he's been able to get outta his friends on the higher plane, I'm all better, 100. No chances for a relapse or for the darkness to try and get back inside."

"_That's great, Faith. Anything else interesting?"_

"Yeah. He said that when we did the ritual, everything that we gave up is now shared between us. So, you've still got the permanence and strength of you soul, but so do me and Willow and the rest of them. The mortals didn't get 'immortality' like Spike surrendered, but there is some kind of perk we got from it, we'll just have to wait to find out what."

"_And what about the whole 'soul' thing?"_

"Well, mine is complete now and stronger than ever, yours is still permanent, and as far as the soul-mates thing goes, it's all true. We all share a little of each others' soul, so we're all cosmically tied together now. Even Spike; he doesn't have his own soul, but he's got a little of all of ours."

"_Hah. That's gotta be killing him. But hey . . . at least we won't have to worry about him trying to kill any of us anytime soon."_

"Guess not. So, anyways, I'll try and get your car back to ya sometime this week . . . maybe B and I can take a drive down there this weekend or somethin."

"_No need to rush, Faith. You know that you're always welcome here, right?"_

Faith smiled. "Yeah, I know, big guy. I'll be in touch. Bye, Angel."

"_Bye, Faith. Behave."_

"Sorry, but that word's not in my vocabulary."

And with that, Faith hung up the phone. She turned to face a smiling Buffy.

"What?" She asked the blonde who was giving her a devilish grin.

"So . . ." Buffy began, slowly creeping up to the brunette, ". . . I hear that soul of yours is permanent. No worries, right?"

"Riiiiight." Faith answered, taking a step back as the blonde got even closer, eventually backing right up into the wall.

Buffy was now right up against her, looking up at her through her eyelashes while wearing a feral smile.

"So . . . how about getting that room?" Buffy asked huskily, causing Faith to smirk and instantly forget about the slightly glum news she had got the night before.

"How 'bout it?" Faith answered cockily, having no time to say anything more as she felt herself being tugged up the stairs by the petite blonde.

A smile crept up on her face.

'_Now THIS is home' _she thought as she was pulled into Buffy's bedroom, the door slamming closed behind her.

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

**Faith's POV**

So it's been about two weeks since I came back to Sunnydale. Things have been pretty good . . . Buffy's been a fuckin doll, tryin' to take care of me and make me happy. It's like she's tryin' to make up for all of the bad times in our past and for all of the time we spent apart.

I've gotta tell ya: it definitely doesn't suck..

As for the Scoobies, they've been pretty cool too. Things were kinds awkward at first, but I don't think it's because of our shaky past. I think it's more because I'm with Buffy now.

Yunno. _With_ with.

Sure, Red's with Tara, so it's not really the girl-girl thing that shocks them. I think it's the fact that it's Buffy and Me, both of us who had only ever been with guys.

I'm sure that if none of this woulda happened, Buffy woulda ended up with some guy, and I probably would ended up with some guy too. But . . . there's something that we share . . . call it the Slayer bond or whatever the fuck else you want. Whatever it is, I can't stand the thought of bein' away from her for more that a few minutes at a time, and she feels the same way.

Anyhow, the entire gang is slowly dealing. Willow and Tara moved in the house and are stayin' in Joyce's old room. We figure that no one can take Joyce's place, but that it can't hurt to have more loving and caring people in the house.

Plus, it makes Dawnie happy to have us all around. She needs a sense of family, and we all wanna give her that. She's so young, she needs it. After all, look at me: I had no real family when I was her age, and I think it fucked me up for a while.

Thanks god I'm on the right track now. smirk

So, like I said, things are goin' pretty good. Just yesterday, we finally got our first taste of that Glory bitch, the hell-God that supposedly takes my B from me.

Yeah, notice that I said _supposedly_, cuz I ain't lettin' that bad-home-permed fashion-challenged piece of shit excuse for a God take _anyone_ from me.

Truth be told, it was kinda weird when we met her for the first time. She was all big talk and bravado, but then she took a look at me. A good hard look.

And ya know what?

She looked _scared._

Looks like the new and improved Faithy has got a little something extra up her sleeve. Hah. Maybe little-ol'-me can give her a run for her money.

Either way, I'm not as scared now as I was two weeks ago when I found out the things that lay ahead of me. I feel confident . . . and I haven't been able to say that about myself since, well, ever.

So we're getting' prepared. The Scoobies are in full research mode, B and I have been trainin' like mad between researchin', and we're takin' things one day at a time.

When the shit goes down, we're gonna be ready.

And as long as I have my friends (yes, my friends) and B by my side? I think we can take whatever the world has to throw at us.

**The End.**

* * *

"I love the way I feel today  
But how I know the sun will fade  
Darker days seem to be  
What will always live in me 

It's hard to walk this path alone  
Hard to know which way to go  
Will I ever save this day?  
Will it ever change?" -- Alter Bridge – "Open Your Eyes"

* * *


End file.
